(FOX40.COM) - - A woman who worked as a church administrator in Yuba City was convicted of embezzling over $360,000 from your house of praise.

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced that a federal judge found 38-year-old Chanell Easton, who now resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, guilty of two counts of aggravated identity theft on Monday.

Talbert said that according to court files and proof presented at trial, Easton stole cash from the church's youth ministry and food kitchen from 2013 to 2018. During her employment, Easton used charge card connected with the church to make personal purchases-- at a hair salon, retailers, online sellers, a holiday rental service, and to buy VIP show tickets, according to the U.S. attorney. She paid off the resulting balance with the church's money.

In addition, Talbert reported that Easton transferred cash straight from the church's checking account to her individual account, forged the church treasury's signature to compose checks to herself, and participated in numerous other fraudulent activities involving church funds.

Yuba County Primary Election Results 2024

On May 19, 2022, a grand jury returned an indictment, charging Easton with 22 counts of wire fraud and two counts of intensified identity theft. Easton pleaded guilty to the fraud counts on Oct. 17, 2023, but persisted in her not-guilty plea to the remaining two counts. A jury trial was waived, and the one-day trial was held before U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez.

Mendez is set up to sentence Easton on June 25. Easton deals with a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 for each count of wire fraud, and a compulsory two-year sentence on each count of intensified identity theft.