Recovering Embezzled Funds from a Bank

The American Parkinson Disease Association, Inc. v. First National Bank, 584 N.W.2d 437 (Minn. App. 2000)

Background. If church funds are embezzled, can the church recover any of its losses from its bank? Probably not, according to a recent case in Minnesota. An officer of a national charity embezzled a substantial amount of his charity's funds. He authorized a volunteer worker to establish a bank account in a local bank for a "local chapter" that the officer said he was creating. The officer then stole contribution checks made payable to the charity, and sent them to the volunteer for deposit in the new bank account. The volunteer deposited the checks, and then sent either checks or money orders back to the officer "to further the work of the charity." Over the course of seven years, the officer embezzled more than $1 million. The scheme was discovered shortly after ...