Members of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Watertown, WI. are out
of hundreds of thousands of dollars and they say one of their church
members is to blame.
St. Bernard’s is suing Arthur Eith for alleged fraud. Parishioners
say Eith told fellow members he had a multi-million dollar business deal
brewing in Nigeria, and he needed them to provide upfront financing.
Although Eith has refused to talk about the incident, a spokesman
for the Madison Diocese told a local television station more than 30
members of St. Bernard’s have lost nearly $350,000 dollars to Eith. And
the church itself lost about $55,000 dollars, thanks to a parish priest
who also gave Eith money.
The parish priest who gave Eith money has been put on
administrative leave, until the courts decide the outcome of this case.
The Watertown Police Department is conducting a criminal
investigation, with assistance from the state Department of Justice.
