Cyberthief May Have Stolen Thousands Of Dollars From Congregation's Bank Account

In a message to community stakeholders Friday, Shaare Emeth officials announced that the Jewish congregation's checking account had been "compromised":

We are writing you to advise that yesterday (Thursday) Congregation Shaare Emeth's checking account was compromised. The total amount stolen was $23,000. We are working closely with the bank and the police. All outstanding checks are being monitored, and we are tracing the compromised transactions. All checking account data has been secured and cannot be further compromised. No credit card information or transactions were affected, nor were any Congregant accounts.   

Rosalie Stein, Shaare Emeth's Executive Director, told Patch that the theft was not connected to an employee of the synagogue and that the matter has been turned over to Creve Coeur Police, which she said had assigned the case to a cyber-investigator.

A number of years ago, Temple Israel, also in Creve Coeur, had its money heavily compromised by a finance officer employed by the congregation.