A former administrative assistant at St. Francis of Assisi University Parish in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, pleaded guilty to embezzling $300,000 from the church to purchase TikTok gifts.
Kristen Marie Battocletti, 35, engaged in the fraudulent scheme between April and October 2023, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama.
Battocletti was charged with one count of wire fraud and admitted to using the church’s Mastercard to make over 600 unauthorized transactions. She used more than $220,000 to buy TikTok Coins, which are virtual items that users can purchase to send digital gifts to content creators.
The prosecutor’s office said “Battocletti used the TikTok Coins to send digital gifts to TikTok content creators.”
The church became aware of the embezzlement when parish officials noticed a depletion of their cash reserves and brought in an auditor.
Battocletti, who had been employed at the parish since 2018, was responsible for bookkeeping and office management.
She faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Her sentencing is set for November 26.
Photo credit: Solen Feyissa, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr
