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Treasurer for Masons faces forgery case

Blake Bowden

Administrator
Staff Member
Yikes!

WENATCHEE — The former treasurer of the Masonic Lodge in Chelan has been charged with forgery after nearly $50,000 was taken from the organization’s bank accounts.

Harry P. Himmelhaver, 56, of Brewster, is charged with seven counts of forgery in Chelan County Superior Court. On Monday, Judge T.W. “Chip†Small denied his request for a public defender even though he does not have a job, noting that his wife works and that they own their home “outright,†according to court documents.

He is scheduled to enter a plea Jan. 20.

According to court documents, the president of the Masonic Lodge contacted the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office in October to report that $47,000 was missing from a money market account. The documents state Himmelhaver was the treasurer of the lodge, but was not authorized to do anything with the money market account.

Himmelhaver is accused of transferring money by writing checks from the money market account at North Cascades National Bank to the Masonic Lodge’s checking account, which he was authorized to access.

He is suspected of then withdrawing the money from the checking account and making withdrawals with the lodge’s debit card at ATMs in Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties and using the card to make purchases.

The documents state that he falsified seven checks ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 each.

In a recorded statement to investigators on Oct. 19, Himmelhaver admitted to taking the money, and said he used it to gamble at Mill Bay Casino in Manson and at the Okanogan Bingo Casino in Okanogan, court documents state. He also admitted to buying a camera with the money.

Himmelhaver could not be reached for comment.

Source: http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/jan/08/treasurer-for-masons-faces-forgery-case/
 

Ashlar

Registered User
It is a shame that these bad apples sneak through the West Gate . BUT , this is not the first time something like this has happened and I am sure it will not be the last .
 

JohnnyFlotsam

Premium Member
How long did this go on and how did it get past the audit?
What audit? I used to teach a workshop for Masonic groups that addressed the proper organization, accounting, documentation, etc., and I am here to tell you that most of the feedback I got was along the lines of, "We've never needed to do <insert best practice here> before..."
Then again, this malfeasance appears to have been discovered in fairly short order, so it may be that the Lodge actually did have some controls in place.
 

Beathard

Premium Member
I think the did a good job catching it quickly. Our lodge requires two signatures on a check and does not allow a debit card. Might be a good safeguard for all lodges.
 
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Beathard

Premium Member
Why is it forgery? The Treasurer is the one that signs checks. Wouldn't it be embezzlement?
 

Beathard

Premium Member
Ok forgery moving it to checking and embezzlement fir taking it out of checking? And Masonic charges as well.
 
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kwilbourn

Registered User
Yeah, I would think he would be charged with both. May have plead it down to "just" forgery; but seems like a pretty clear case of forgery and embezzlement. It seems they have charged him with a count of forgery for each falsified check. They may be waiting on the embezzlement to determine the total amount before pressing charges; not an expert on law, but I think the amount embezzled impacts the charges with regards to the class of felony.
 

dnewman3

Registered User
is it not similiar....

Is it not similiar For organizations that their one of their sole purposes is to raise money to support other causes...that they stash away and hored excessive amounts of cash?
 

Beathard

Premium Member
Lodges main purpose is not "to raise money for support of others". This is one reason we are not a 501c3.
 

Brent Heilman

Premium Member
Our Lodge here in Oklahoma has more than that 50k amount stored away. Years ago they decided to take extra funds while times were good to invest so that when the times were leaner then they had something to fall back on. Just a couple of weeks ago we made another deposit into the investment account and when we were discussing it it was said that they want something for the future generations that come after us. That way we leave them something that will help the Lodge to continue operating and providing the support for Brothers and community.
 

owls84

Moderator
Premium Member
In a recorded statement to investigators on Oct. 19, Himmelhaver admitted to taking the money, and said he used it to gamble at Mill Bay Casino in Manson and at the Okanogan Bingo Casino in Okanogan, court documents state. He also admitted to buying a camera with the money.

Worst part of that post.
 

Preston DuBose

Registered User
Re: is it not similiar....

Is it not similiar For organizations that their one of their sole purposes is to raise money to support other causes...that they stash away and hored excessive amounts of cash?

I could only dream of our lodge having that kind of money! Still, there are many reasons why a Lodge would keep that much money "stashed away", starting with saving money toward a new building or doing major repairs such as a new roof on an existing building. On one hand $50K is a lot, but when you start looking at building maintenance it can go pretty quick.
 

sands67

Premium Member
Greetings Brothers, i am writing from Canada. All too often many organizations are taken advantage of by their own. I have asked for improvements many times in how are funds are controlled and audited . All too often however it appears to be more of an attitude of it wont happen to us. I hope it doesn't, but this artcle shoes in a moment of weakness anything is possible.
 
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