Church Official Receives Over 2-Year Sentence for Stealing $1.1 Million from His Church

Herr, who pleaded guilty to mail fraud, was also ordered to pay $800,000 in restitution to the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Prosecutors said Herr - of Lancaster, PA - took the money over a 22 year span while working for the church as treasurer. The theft was exposed after Herr was terminated for unrelated reasons and the church group discovered suspicious checks.

He was ordered to begin serving his prison sentence four days after Christmas. Herr has already repaid the church $309,000, and his lawyer said Friday that he intends to pay back the rest.

Herr spent the money on expensive cars and other personal items and on a gambling addiction. The Harrisburg-based synod has about 122,000 members in nine mid-state counties.