Ex-bookkeeper charged with stealing $80,000 from Selden church, DA says

A Florida woman has been arrested and charged with embezzling about $80,000 from a Selden church while she was employed as a bookkeeper, Suffolk authorities said Friday.

Stacey Hirsch, 48, of Saint Lucie, Florida faces grand larceny charges for allegedly writing checks to herself and her husband drawn on the church’s bank account, according to a news release from Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

"Financial crimes against community institutions not only damage their operations but undermine the trust that binds our community together," Tierney said in a statement Friday.

Hirsch, who previously resided in Centereach, used portions of the $80,000 she allegedly swiped from the church’s checking account from June 2022 to May 2023 to pay credit card bills and various household expenses, such as utilities, according to the district attorney.

It was not until the board of the church, which the district attorney’s release did not identify, learned that the church’s bills were not being paid that Hirsch’s alleged embezzlement was uncovered. The house of worship’s treasurer reviewed finances over previous years and discovered insufficient funds to pay legitimate expenses. Hirsch was subsequently fired from the church and then soon moved from Centereach to Saint Lucie along Florida’s eastern coast.

The Florida woman was arrested in her home state on April 10 and subsequently extradited to Suffolk County.

On Friday, Hirsch pleaded not guilty to second-degree grand larceny, a felony charge, before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, according to court documents.

Hirsch was released without bail, as her alleged crime is not eligible for bail, according to Tierney. She is scheduled to return to court on June 5 and is being represented by the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years behind bars.