NORRISTOWN — A former member of a Norristown church that traces its origins back to 1890 was jailed and has a hefty restitution bill for stealing $351,000 from church coffers while acting as volunteer treasurer.
James Eric Foster Sr., 68, formerly of the 2600 block of Egypt Road in Lower Providence Township and most recently of Green Bay, WI, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 8 to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of theft by unlawful taking or disposition in connection with thefts that occurred between November 2022 and March 2024 while he volunteered as treasurer of Christ Church United Church of Christ in the 1000 block of West Marshall Street.
Judge William R. Carpenter also ordered Foster to complete eight years of probation consecutive to parole, meaning Foster will be under court supervision for 10 years.
The judge ordered Foster to pay a total of $351,000 in restitution to the church and its insurer.
Additionally, Foster is prohibited from having contact with church members.
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Foster, without authorization, obtained an ATM card linked to the church’s bank account and began a pattern of near-daily $1,000 withdrawals from the church bank account.
Assistant District Attorney Paul Pruitt sought a jail term for Foster, arguing Foster betrayed the trust of church members and that his conduct nearly destroyed a community institution.
In a sentencing memorandum, Pruitt said the church “has deep roots in the borough’s religious and community life,” tracing its origins back to 1890 as a mission Sunday School of the Reformed Church of the Ascension.
“The most harmful aspect of defendant’s conduct is its repeated nature. He was entrusted with the finances of this church. Defendant did not make one withdraw on one day. He violated the trust of the members of this devout community nearly 350 times over 17 months,” Pruitt argued.
The monetary loss suffered by the church flowed from a financial trust that the church was reliant on for operation.
“(The church), standing in Norristown for over a century, was reliant on this trust to secure its future for many years to come,” Pruitt argued. “Draining this trust would have crippled the church long term, had the insurance company not eventually covered the misappropriated funds.
“The insurance company’s payment should in no way serve to benefit (Foster),” Pruitt added. “Payment by the insurance company does not nullify the restitution amount owed, only who it gets paid to.”
Pruitt said numerous entities — a forensic analyst, county detectives, an insurance company and a forensic accounting service — had to painstakingly “determine the size of the massive chunk that was flagrantly cut from the church’s safety net.”
“Despite repeated requests, at no time had defendant offered legitimate answers to justify his actions or documentation to show how the withdrawn money was spent,” Pruitt argued.
Authorities said Foster moved to Wisconsin in August 2024 not long after the theft accusations came to light.
During a presentence interview and statements, Foster minimized the loss, offered excuses and shifted blame to others, prosecutors alleged.
Defense lawyer Joshua Rudolph represented Foster during the court proceedings.
The investigation began in August 2024, when a forensic examiner, hired by church council to investigate questionable ATM and cash withdrawals from the church’s operating account between 2022 and 2024, contacted county detectives regarding the embezzlement. At that time, the examiner reported finding more than 300 individual withdrawals totaling about $348,800, according to court documents.
The investigation determined that the church’s longtime bookkeeper fell ill in October 2022 and was incapacitated. Foster a long time church member, volunteered to take over the bookkeeping duties, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Dirk R. Boughter and Norristown Detective Joshua Samuels.
Foster, unauthorized, applied for an ATM card for the church’s Wells Fargo Bank account in November 2022 and the investigation uncovered “an almost daily withdrawal” of $1,000, detectives said.
When questioned by the church council about the funds, Foster allegedly claimed the church checkbook could not be located and that the cash withdrawals were necessary to pay the church’s bills.
Authorities alleged quarterly tax reports required to be filed by the church were neglected by Foster, “likely in an effort to cover his criminal activity.”
“He was asked to resign from the church council (consistory) in April of 2024 when he was confronted about the lack of documentation for the withdrawals,” Boughter and Samuels wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Numerous church members were interviewed during the investigation and they indicated they turned to Foster to “step in” when the church’s previous treasurer fell ill.
“None of the other church members knew that an ATM/debit card existed or had been authorized on the church bank account,” Boughter and Samuels alleged, adding members had relied on Foster to guide the church’s finances.
Certified bank records showed that Foster made either ATM withdrawals or counter withdrawals 341 times over the course of 17 months, totaling $345,500, according to the criminal complaint.
“None of the withdrawals was ever justified by Jim Foster Sr. by way of documentation or receipts to support his need for cash. No employees or church members can think of a reason why so much cash would be needed, given that the church bills were paid using check or automatic debit from the account,” Boughter and Samuels wrote in the arrest affidavit.
“His refusal to provide reasons or receipts to church members investigating the financial losses, combined with his change in residency within four months of being confronted about the losses, indicates Jim Foster Sr.’s consciousness of guilt,” Boughter and Samuels alleged.