Raleigh church worker charged with embezzlement over 5-year period

RALEIGH -- An administrator at Hayes Barton Baptist Church has been charged with embezzling more than $136,000 from the church over a five-year period.

Robert Lahr, 49, of 917 Clay Hill Drive in Knightdale, is accused of taking $136,324.58 from his employer, according to the Raleigh police department.

"We uncovered the misuse of funds and we turned our findings over to law enforcement authorities," said Greg Owen, Chairman of the Diaconate at Hayes Barton, in a statement from the church.

Lahr is accused of using a church credit card for personal purchases, of manipulating his payroll and of making unauthorized transfers from church accounts, his arrest warrant says.

The offenses occurred over a five-year period beginning in 2006, the warrant states.

Though he was employed by Hayes Barton, Lahr and his family attend First Presbyterian Church on Hargett Street in downtown Raleigh.

"At First Presbyterian, our focus in this situation is going to be caring for Robert's family as well as we can," Mark Turner, business operations and facilities manager at First Presbyterian, said Friday.

Turner said that his official job title differs from Lahr's, but that their job duties at the two churches were similar. Turner explained that he, too, is not a member at the church where he is employed, and said it is not unusual for church staffers to separate their workplace from their worship space.

Lahr is being held in the Wake County jail under a $150,000 bond. "We pray for God's grace with this former employee and for his family," said Owen in the church's statement.