A former pastor who embezzled over €125,000 from his own church in Co Kildare has had his six-and-a-half-year prison sentence reduced by one year on appeal.
The Court of Appeal heard on Friday that Ebenezer Oduntan (60), a former pastor of the City of David Church in Co Kildare, has made no restitution to either the congregation he defrauded or to Revenue, reports Breaking News.
Oduntan was convicted of 87 theft- and fraud-related offences following a three-week trial at Naas Circuit Criminal Court in March 2024.
The church, which holds charitable status, is a branch of a Nigerian-based Pentecostal church, reports Breaking News.
Oduntan was initially sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, with the final six months suspended, by Judge Martina Baxter.
At the Court of Appeal on Friday, Justice Alexander Owens quashed the original sentence and reduced it to six years with six months suspended, saying the trial judge’s headline sentence was “somewhat too high”, though he described this as “a rather marginal” adjustment, reports Breaking News.
He noted that the offending was “particularly serious”, involving a prolonged fraud against a charity by the person entrusted with its leadership.
“There was a gross breach of trust,” Justice Owens said, reports Breaking News.
The judge highlighted that the offences involved substantial sums and improper claims for tax rebates, noting that the victims were not banks or insurers but Oduntan’s own parishioners.
“The reality is that this man defrauded his own congregation,” he said, reports Breaking News.
The offences occurred over a ten-year period from 2010 to 2020, during which Oduntan was pastor of the church’s Newbridge branch and responsible for its daily operations and finances.
He had sole access to and control of the church’s finances between 2012 and 2020, reports Breaking News.
Oduntan, of Curragh Grange, Newbridge, Co Kildare, faced 73 counts of theft, five charges of deception, and nine offences under company law following an investigation by the Corporate Enforcement Authority.
While he initially denied 54 of the charges, he pleaded guilty midway through the trial to 19 counts of theft, five counts of deception, and nine charges of providing false information to the Companies Registration Office, reports Breaking News.
The sentencing court heard that Oduntan withdrew church funds for personal use, including cheques up to €20,000 made payable to himself.
He admitted to a member of the congregation that he had been “dipping his hand into the church purse”, reports Breaking News.
Oduntan also inflated donation levels so that a larger rebate would be received by the church from Revenue under the Charitable Donation Scheme.
None of the stolen funds has been recovered, and Oduntan has not been a member of the church since 2020, reports Breaking News.
In delivering judgment, Justice Owens said there was very little mitigation available in the case.
He added that evidence of previous good character was undermined by the fact that Oduntan had abused his status to “embezzle money”, reports Breaking News.
The judge also criticised the timing of Oduntan’s guilty pleas, noting that he had made only partial admissions before trial.
“The defendant, having made some half-admissions, then put the State to the pin of its collar,” Justice Owens said, adding that an early plea would have saved considerable time and expense, reports Breaking News.
He further noted that Oduntan had made no effort to reimburse the church or Revenue for the losses sustained.
Justice Owens set a new headline sentence of seven years, which he reduced to six years with the final six months suspended to encourage continued rehabilitation, reports Breaking News.
At the appeal hearing, Damien Colgan SC, representing Oduntan, argued that the original headline sentence of eight years was excessive given his client’s personal circumstances and lack of previous convictions.
He submitted that the trial judge erred in placing the case at the upper range of offending, noting that the total amount involved, approximately €125,000, was lower than in other cases where shorter sentences had been imposed, reports Breaking News.
Colgan also argued that the suspension of only six months was insufficient.
Jordan Fletcher BL, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the offending involved “a substantial breach of trust and fiduciary duty” carried out through “sophisticated means of deception”.
He added that Oduntan exploited his status and position as pastor, acted as the sole controller of the church’s finances, and made no restitution to the congregation, the charity, or Revenue, reports Breaking News.
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