(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — The financial director for Pikes Peak Christian Church has been arrested on almost 900 counts of alleged financial-related crimes, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO).
EPSO said the sheriff’s office initially received a report on Oct. 24, 2022, that stated an employee of Pikes Peak Christian Church was committing fraud, theft, and other offenses while acting in her duties as Financial Director for the church.
Over the next six months, EPSO said detectives with the Investigations Division spent hundreds of hours analyzing financial documents and evidence relevant to the case.
Through their investigation, detectives determined that the employee, identified as Sara Ann Mock-Butler, had stolen, defrauded, and forged documents between March 2018 and July 2022, which resulted in the loss of a large sum of money from Pikes Peak Christian Church, EPSO said.
On Wednesday, May 31, 2023, an arrest warrant was issued for Mock-Butler for 896 counts of financial crimes. She faces the following felony charges:
- Theft (One count)
- Cyber Crime (One count)
- Money Laundering (296 counts)
- Identity Theft (527 counts)
- Forgery (61 counts)
- Tax Evasion (Six counts)
- Filing a False Tax Return (Five counts)
EPSO said Mock-Butler turned herself in on Wednesday just before 1 p.m. for her active warrant.