FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – A woman who once worked as the financial secretary for a Nassau County church has been charged with grand theft after authorities say she embezzled more than $570,000.
Melissa Ganey English (formerly known as Melissa Ganey Rhoden) was arrested in Baker County.
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English, 44, maintained the financial records of Amelia Baptist Church for about 11 years. The church is at 961167 Buccaneer Trail in Fernandina Beach.
Authorities said that from January 2019 to October 2024, English used her position at Amelia Baptist to line her own pockets and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of the church’s money on herself.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said English got caught when two new church financial committee members noticed discrepancies when they reviewed bank documents and records. They found the church funds were lower than they should have been, investigators said.
When they checked the credit card statements from a church credit card issued directly to English, they found hundreds of thousands of dollars had been used for her personal expenses, the sheriff’s office said.
English was fired, and the church hired a contractor to review all of the financial transactions from 2019 to 2024, according to investigators. That contractor found numerous discrepancies and fraudulent charges.
“While the last few months have been incredibly hurtful and difficult, it would be easy to become distracted from our main mission as a church. Amelia Baptist Church remains committed to the values that make us a church family,” Pastor Forrest Jones said in a statement. (Scroll down to read the full statement from the church.)
When Nassau County deputies were called in to investigate possible criminal charges, they said they found that English -- through unauthorized charges, personal credit card payments, and additional payroll payments to herself -- had embezzled:
- Nearly $40,000 in 2019
- Nearly $90,000 in 2020
- More than $100,000 in 2021
- Nearly $125,000 in 2022
- Just over $123,000 in 2023
- More than $90,000 in 2024
According to investigators, the fraudulent expenses included:
- Purchases from Amazon and Walmart
- SeaWorld tickets, concert tickets & baseball tickets
- Hey Dude Shoes
- Hotel stays, flights, cruises & Airbnb rentals
- A helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon
- Other personal expenses
English has been charged with grand theft over $100,000, a first-degree felony.
“This is a significant breach of trust that has deeply impacted the church community,” said Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper. “The suspect abused her position of trust for years, using church funds meant for ministry and community service to instead fund her personal lifestyle. Our office is committed to seeking justice for the victims of this extensive financial crime.”
A warrant was issued on March 25, and following a “Wanted Wednesday” post on April 9, 2025, English was found and detained in Baker County.
Amelia Baptist Church paster Forrest Jones shared the following statement:
In October of 2024, the leadership of Amelia Baptist Church discovered evidence of financial irregularities. The employee overseeing the financial operations of the church admitted to wrongdoing and her employment was terminated immediately. The Church leadership reported the theft to the NCSO and has cooperated fully with detectives investigating the crime. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by any other members, employees or pastors of the Church.
While the last few months have been incredibly hurtful and difficult, it would be easy to become distracted from our main mission as a church. Amelia Baptist Church remains committed to the values that make us a church family. We continue to work diligently to proclaim the good news of the Gospel, to see lives transformed by the love of Jesus and care for people. While events such as this could cause us either to feel despair or have a sense of superiority, the Bible is clear that we all have a sinful nature and thus we must approach this with humility: because apart from Christ we are all capable of much worse (Matthew 15:19); and hopefully, by placing our faith in Jesus we can be transformed (Romans 10:13).
Due to the ongoing nature of the legal matters, we can not comment further and refer all other questions to our Attorney John Cascone or the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
