KC Reporter

A retired priest from Jefferson City, Missouri, has been sentenced to federal prison for sending $100,000 in stolen church funds to his sister. The Rev. Ignazio C. Medina, 73, also known as "Ignatius," was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to three months in prison without parole and ordered to pay a fine of $7,500.

Medina pleaded guilty on July 9, 2024, to transporting stolen property across state lines. He served as the pastor at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Wardsville from 2013 until 2021. Financial irregularities were identified at the church in 2018 when it was discovered that there was an unreported bank account linked to the parish.

In 2020, Medina reported that this account had a balance of approximately $358,000. However, after he transferred to another parish in 2021, it emerged that he had emptied the account. On June 10, 2021, Medina wrote a $100,000 check to his sibling in Tucson, Arizona and followed up with a $200,000 check payable to himself the next day.

Medina defended his actions by claiming that the funds were intended for his discretionary use rather than parish purposes. This statement was contradicted by donors who asserted their contributions were meant for parish activities and not personal use by Medina.

One donor specified their donation was intended for school-related activities in memory of a deceased friend and denied authorizing any other usage of the funds. Additionally, although Medina claimed he refunded donations and mentioned his sibling as one of those donors; investigators confirmed this sibling did not contribute any donations and said the money was meant for their mother's care.

The case against Medina was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Kummerer following an investigation conducted by the FBI.