HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) – A former church worker was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing more than $490,000 from an area church.

Judge Oscar Garcia sentenced Scott Edward Moore on Thursday. Moore had pleaded guilty in January to three counts of first-degree aggravated theft.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office first began investigating Moore last year after leaders at the Village Baptist Church in Beaverton contacted authorities about possible fraud involving church credit cards.

A forensics firm reviewed church finances and discovered that Moore, who was the church’s operations manager before moving to Texas, had used the cards to make personal purchases.

The district attorney’s office says when detectives confronted Moore, he admitted making the purchases.

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