Church Secretary Accused of Stealing $97K to Finance Drug Habit, Police Say

Debora Barfield

KERSHAW COUNTY, SC (WOLO) – An Elgin woman could face 20 years in prison for allegedly stealing $97,000 from a church where she once served as secretary to buy drugs.

On Monday, May 9, 53-year-old Debora Bradshaw turned herself in to the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant charging her with breach of trust with fraudulent intent and forgery.

Authorities say members of the finance committee at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Lugoff, became suspicious during their annual audit of the church’s finances when Barfield, who oversaw church funds, repeatedly failed to provide documents needed to perform the audit.

Following the audit, a Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office investigator began working with church officials who said that large sums of money could not be accounted for, officials say.

Barfield is accused of forging approximately 145 checks and had stolen church funds in excess of $97,000 dating back to February 2015.

Authorities say she admitted to taking the funds to buy drugs which she purchased on the street in Columbia.

She was released on a $25,000 bond.

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