Church treasurer accused of writing fraudulent checks, stealing nearly $10,000

SHEBOYGAN COUNTY -- 69-year-old Jeff Braeger of Sheboygan faces a felony charge of theft in a business setting for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheboygan. The total loss to the church was $9,472.58.

According to the criminal complaint, Braeger has been the treasurer of the church for 21 years. In the criminal complaint, Braeger told police "that he stole the money from the church and deposited the checks" in another person's name. He told investigators that "every check made to Met Life was fraudulent" -- and that he started to write these checks in May 2015.

The complaint indicates that Braeger "stole the money from the church for medical expenses, as he has Parkinson's Disease, was recently diagnosed with heart disease, and is in need of knee replacement surgery."

If convicted on this charge, Braeger faces up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines.