Catholic Bishop of Chicago sues former accountant, claims he stole $60K-plus

The Catholic Bishop of Chicago is suing a former accountant, claiming he stole more than $60,000.

The corporation sole filed a lawsuit April 21 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Carl M. Frazier, citing conversion, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

According to the complaint, Frazier was in charge of the accounting responsibilities in 2007 for the St. Ethelreda Catholic School, which is operated by the Catholic Bishop of Chicago.

The corporation sole contends it discovered that Frazier stole $32,000 of tuition money from the school and submitted duplicate and fraudulent receipts representing them to be school expenses. The suit alleges Frazier wrongfully took more than $60,000 in total.

The plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, interest, accountant fees, attorney's fees and court costs. It is being represented by Chicago attorneys Jeffrey Zehe and Matthew McLean of Nielsen, Zehe &  Antas P.C.

Cook County District Court Case No. 2014L004438.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Cook County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.