Manatee Deputies Arrest 8 in Church Check Theft Ring Accused of Stealing Tithes From 17 Churches

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office has arrested eight people accused of belonging to a theft ring that stole tithe checks mailed to at least 17 churches in the county and deposited them into personal bank accounts. Detectives say more than 20 suspects took part in the broader scheme, which they tie to more than $266,000 in losses across the region, and seven more suspects are wanted on active warrants, including one believed to be in Cuba.

The sheriff's office detailed the arrests on Friday, Nov. 6, after an investigation that began in December 2025, when the pastor of a Lakewood Ranch church noticed that the mail carrying members' donations had slowed to a trickle. The case adds to a run of mail and check theft reports in eastern Manatee County this year, and investigators are still working to identify more victims.

Who was arrested

The sheriff's office identified the eight people arrested as:

• Yucmercy Espinosa Obregon
• Luis Miguel Sanchez Santos
• Lisaida Castro Gonzalez
• Ismery Ferrer Alonso
• Luis Enrique Valdes Camejo
• Dayanis Leon Hernandez
• Duvier Hernandez Canizarez
• Isidro Gonzalez Gomez

The group faces charges that include organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, uttering a forged instrument and criminal use of personal identification information, according to the sheriff's office, as reported by FOX 13 and the Bradenton Herald. The agency did not specify which charges apply to each person, and their ages and hometowns were not included in published reports. All eight are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The identities of the seven people wanted on warrants have not been released. Detectives believe some of them are in the Miami area and that at least one is in Cuba, FOX 13 reported.

How the scheme allegedly worked

According to the sheriff's office, members of the ring intercepted envelopes that churchgoers had mailed to their local houses of worship. Many contained tithes and offerings written as checks. Detectives say the suspects then deposited those checks into personal accounts using mobile banking apps, a method investigators described as a way to avoid detection, FOX 13 reported.

In the Lakewood Ranch case that started the investigation, the first sign of trouble was not a bank alert but a congregation asking questions: members wanted to know whether their regular gifts had arrived.

Reports on the case say the activity aimed at Manatee County churches ran from roughly September 2025 to May 2026, though the sheriff's office has said its investigation remains open.

How the case started at a Lakewood Ranch church

The investigation began in December 2025, when a pastor at Harvest United Methodist Church in Lakewood Ranch reported a significant drop in incoming mail. Members of the congregation had begun asking whether their monthly tithe checks had been received, according to the sheriff's office.

Detectives later determined that the checks had been stolen and deposited into suspects' bank accounts. As the investigation widened, they connected the thefts to at least 17 churches in Manatee County. The sheriff's office has not publicly named the other 16 congregations.

The losses, by the numbers

The sheriff's office broke down the confirmed and suspected losses into three groups:

Together, the figures exceed $266,000, according to the sheriff's office as reported by FOX 13. Some outlets rounded the total to about $260,000. The regional figures cover thefts outside Manatee County that detectives tied to the same network.

A multi-agency investigation

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office led the case with help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the federal agency that investigates mail theft, and the Hillsborough County and Pasco County sheriff's offices. The sheriff's office describes the network as regional, with more than 20 suspects in all.

The Postal Inspection Service had already been working with Manatee deputies on a wave of mail theft in the area. In April, FOX 13 reported that the sheriff's office was investigating multiple check fraud cases and a rise in mail theft, with the first reported check washing cases coming from the Lakewood Ranch area. In one case described in that report, a resident's $4,900.15 check mailed to Manatee County Utilities was stolen, altered and presented for payment under another name. The sheriff's office has not said whether those earlier cases are connected to the church ring.

Other reports this year described the same pattern. In February, WWSB reported that Lakewood Ranch residents were finding that payments they had mailed never reached their destinations, and in March the station reported on a stolen and altered check that a resident had written as a charitable donation to a cancer hospital. The Postal Service confirmed at the time that an inspector was investigating mail theft in the Lakewood Ranch area. A separate WWSB report in February carried the headline that Lakewood Ranch mail theft victims had been "cleaned out," losing hundreds of thousands of dollars combined.

What churches and donors can do

The sheriff's office is urging residents who mail donations or payments to keep a close eye on their checking accounts and to confirm that each check reached its intended recipient. Its earlier mail theft guidance also advised residents to:

• Pick up mail as soon as possible after it is delivered.
• Avoid mailing cash or checks when possible.
• Use a locked mailbox or a secure postal drop box for sensitive items.
• Check bank accounts and credit reports regularly for unusual activity.

For congregations, the Harvest United Methodist case shows the value of comparing what members say they gave with what actually arrives. A pastor's report of a sudden drop in mailed giving is what opened this investigation.

What's next

The eight people arrested will move through the Manatee County court system on the state charges. Detectives are still searching for the seven suspects with active warrants and say the investigation remains ongoing as they work to identify additional victims and anyone else involved.

Anyone who believes they may have lost money in the scheme is asked to contact the Manatee County Sheriff's Office at 941-747-3011. Mail theft can also be reported to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or uspis.gov.