On February 1, 2019, Theresa Kolacz, age 51, of Berlin, Maryland, was sentenced by the Honorable Beau H. Oglesby to serve a total of ten years in the Maryland Division of Corrections. Kolacz was convicted of theft over $100,000, embezzlement and forgery on December 6, 2018.
The charges stem from a May 15, 2018 incident during which police were notified by officials at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Ocean City, Maryland that they believed Kolacz, who acted as the church’s secretary and bookkeeper, was stealing money from the church. A review of church financial records proved that over a period of two years, Kolacz stole $141,609 from the church primarily by writing unauthorized checks to herself and taking cash that should have been deposited into the church’s bank account. Kolacz confessed to police that she also stole money donated to the church and rent received from the church’s rental properties.
Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser commended the Ocean City Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Detective Whitmer for their detailed investigation, and thanked Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Farlow who prosecuted the case.