Norbertine brother charged with stealing $2 million from abbey
Prosecutors say Owens used the stolen money to fund personal investments and purchase a house.
A former Norbertine brother in New Mexico has been indicted for allegedly stealing $2 million of abbey money while serving as the community’s treasurer and overseeing a construction project.
James Joseph Owens, 68, was arrested Jan. 23. He has been charged with eight counts of wire fraud, 23 counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity, and one count of tax evasion.
Prosecutors say Owens stole more than $2 million of abbey money, which he used to fund personal investments and the purchase of a house outside of Albuquerque, among other things.
He has entered a plea of not guilty.
Owens joined the Norbertine Community of Santa María de la Vid Abbey in 2009. As a brother, he made a vow of poverty and agreed to give his personal assets, as well as any future income, to the community.
Owens, who had spent nearly a decade working as a certified public accountant before joining the Norbertines, was named treasurer of the community in 2016. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the community’s investments and budget.
When the Norbertine community launched an effort to expand its retreat center in 2020, Owens was tasked with overseeing the liquidation of investment funds.
But according to prosecutors, he stole more than $2 million of abbey money from 2022 to early 2023, through domestic and international wire transfers, brokerage transactions, and cryptocurrency purchases.
Owens “used these funds for his own personal benefit, including through further transactions involving accounts he controlled at Charles Schwab Corporation, Coinbase Global, Inc., E*Trade Financial Center, Fidelity Investments, New Mexico Bank and Trust, and U.S. Bancorp,” court documents allege.
They also say Owens “used some of the stolen funds to purchase a home in Placitas. New Mexico.”
The IRS investigated Owens, who is also charged with filing a fraudulent 2022 tax return by knowingly failing to report the income from these misappropriated funds.
Owens could face up to 20 years in prison if he is found guilty.
Robert Warren is an assistant professor of accounting at Radford University, a retired IRS investigator, and an expert in theft and fraud in ecclesiastical contexts.
Warren told The Pillar that while there are a number of details about the case that are still unknown, “[t]his is not the typical case of a priest alone in a parish who starts stealing money [to] gamble it away or carry on an illicit affair.”
“Brother JJ orchestrated a somewhat sophisticated money laundering scheme that was international in scope,” he noted.
Warren has advocated for the implementation of internal controls to prevent financial fraud in parishes and other Catholic institutions.
Among the measures he encourages is having several people involved in financial transactions and record-keeping, in order to make it more difficult for fraud to take place.
In the case of the New Mexico Norbertines, Owens’ role as treasure placed him in charge of handling payment of the community’s expenses.
“He appears to have had total access and authority over the funds with no enforceable internal controls,” Warren said.
He added that “construction projects are a great way to hide the theft of money.”
The Norbertines are not alone in allegedly falling victim to financial fraud by a member or employee.
Parishes in Florida, Missouri, New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts and Iowa are among those which have been victims of financial crimes in recent years.
At this point I want a buddy cop novel/movie starring Mr. Warren and JD's dad in their younger years busting financial crimes..
The fact that there is even such a thing as, "the typical case of a priest alone in a parish who starts stealing money [to] gamble it away or carry on an illicit affair," ought to be more than enough reason to have dual control and audit procedures in place universally. It's pretty unbelievable that they aren't.