Nonprofit director steals $1.6M meant for widows and orphans, goes on cruises, feds say

The executive director of a Philadelphia nonprofit fund stole $1.6 million intended for widows and orphans — and used it on vacations and a luxury condo, federal officials said.

John Miller has now been arrested and charged with wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a Dec. 22 news release.

The 74-year-old man from Philadelphia was indicted on three counts and faces up to 60 years in prison, officials said.

McClatchy News could not immediately reach the defense attorney representing Miller.

‘Used his position of trust’

Miller was the executive director and treasurer of a nonprofit church organization that “provided life insurance and financial support to the widows and orphans of deceased clergy,” according to an indictment.

In his position, he managed all business activity in the fund, including sending insurance payments to families, record-keeping and presenting financial statements, officials said.

But he wasn’t satisfied with his pay, and he complained to fellow executives about not receiving enough compensation for his work, according to federal officials.

Now he’s accused of compensating himself about $1,626,556 across 22 checks in a scheme that officials said ran from 2015 to 2022.

He used this money to buy a luxury condo and go on vacations, including international cruises and trips to the Caribbean, officials said.

When family members of deceased clergy members requested their insurance benefit funds, Miller initiated the legitimate wire transfer, but then sent money to himself for the same amount, officials said in the indictment.

In one instance in January 2019, he deposited a $190,950 check from the fund into his own bank account, the indictment shows.

Other financial statements show payments of around $100,000.

Miller created false records to conceal the fraud and showed those ledgers to other executives and external auditors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Miller, who had been with the nonprofit organization since 2001, “used his position of trust to steal ... and to cover-up his fraud scheme,” officials said in the indictment.

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