# Treasurer for Masons faces forgery case



## Blake Bowden (Jan 15, 2010)

Yikes!

WENATCHEE â€” The former treasurer of the Masonic Lodge in Chelan has been charged with forgery after nearly $50,000 was taken from the organizationâ€™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. â€œChipâ€ 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 â€œoutright,â€ 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 Sheriffâ€™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 Lodgeâ€™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 lodgeâ€™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/


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## Timothy Fleischer (Jun 6, 2011)

How long did this go on and how did it get past the audit?


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## Ashlar (Jun 6, 2011)

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 .


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## JohnnyFlotsam (Jun 6, 2011)

Timothy Fleischer said:


> 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.


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## Beathard (Jun 6, 2011)

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 (Jun 6, 2011)

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


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## kwilbourn (Jun 6, 2011)

Beathard said:


> Why is it forgery? The Treasurer is the one that signs checks.



I'm guessing this is why:



Blake Bowden said:


> Himmelhaver was the treasurer of the lodge, but was not authorized to do anything with the money market account.


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## Beathard (Jun 6, 2011)

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


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## kwilbourn (Jun 6, 2011)

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.


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## Beathard (Jun 6, 2011)

In Washington state Class B felony starts at $5000.


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## Beathard (Jun 6, 2011)

In Washington state Class B felony starts at $5000. Penalty is 15 to 25 years.

Source: http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/crime-penalties/federal/embezzlement.htm


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## dnewman3 (Jun 6, 2011)

*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?


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## Beathard (Jun 6, 2011)

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


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## dnewman3 (Jun 6, 2011)

*what about the shrine?*

What about the shrine?


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## Tx4ever (Jun 6, 2011)

Wow .....a lodge with $50,000 in any account!


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## Beathard (Jun 6, 2011)

I know of a lodge in Texas with over a million in CDs.  It's amazing that they have been able to keep it.


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## Brent Heilman (Jun 7, 2011)

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.


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## owls84 (Jun 7, 2011)

Blake Bowden said:


> 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.


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## Preston DuBose (Jun 7, 2011)

*Re: is it not similiar....*



dnewman3 said:


> 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.


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## sands67 (Jun 28, 2011)

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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## Bloke (Aug 14, 2016)

http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com.au/2016/08/vancouver-wa-masonic-center-lost-due-to.html


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## Ripcord22A (Aug 14, 2016)

I think he needs all three penalties....

Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app


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## Classical (Aug 14, 2016)

To betray so many brothers and their families.... I suppose even sociopaths can get into our brotherhood if not carefully watched.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Aug 15, 2016)

Classical said:


> To betray so many brothers and their families.... I suppose even sociopaths can get into our brotherhood if not carefully watched.


Of course they can "MEMBERSHIP IS DECLINING, WE NEED NEW MEMBERS" This is what is shoved down our throats. I believe in quality over quantity.


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## Bill Lins (Aug 15, 2016)

We need MASONS, not "members".


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## Dontrell Stroman (Aug 15, 2016)

Bill_Lins77488 said:


> We need MASONS, not "members".


That's right brother.


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## Warrior1256 (Aug 19, 2016)

Outrageous and sad.


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## dfreybur (Aug 19, 2016)

Knowledge come by through far too much personal familiarity with Masonic trials - It is rare for an embezzler to be prosecuted in a criminal case if the theft is below $250K, common if the amount is over $250K.  I know of a case where the amount was under the threshold so the perps were expelled from Masonry then did not go through criminal charges.

In one of the secretary training sessions in Illinois a similar case was discussed and it was mentioned to happen roughly once per decade in the large jurisdiction.  Argh.


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## Warrior1256 (Aug 19, 2016)

dfreybur said:


> Knowledge come by through far too much personal familiarity with Masonic trials - It is rare for an embezzler to be prosecuted in a criminal case if the theft is below $250K, common if the amount is over $250K.  I know of a case where the amount was under the threshold so the perps were expelled from Masonry then did not go through criminal charges.
> 
> In one of the secretary training sessions in Illinois a similar case was discussed and it was mentioned to happen roughly once per decade in the large jurisdiction.  Argh.


It's very disconcerting when a Brother betrays Brother(s).


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## Bloke (Aug 19, 2016)

** post deleted**


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## Bloke (Aug 19, 2016)

**quote deleted**

We should delete these posts least someone unscrupulous get an idea....


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## Glen Cook (Aug 20, 2016)

Warrior1256 said:


> Outrageous and sad.


And far too common.


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## Glen Cook (Aug 20, 2016)

The lesson not learned is that our insurance policies should have defalcation coverage.


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## Ripcord22A (Aug 20, 2016)

Why, why must the english language have so many words that mean the same thing.....Glen u make me feel dumb sometimes...lol..had to look that one up too.  Was pretty sure it was embezzelment or misappropriation and i was right but dang

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## Ripcord22A (Aug 20, 2016)

Could imagine a judge writing up the decision on a court case and misspelling that one...leaving out the L....

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## Warrior1256 (Aug 20, 2016)

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> Why, why must the english language have so many words that mean the same thing.....Glen u make me feel dumb sometimes...lol..had to look that one up too.  Was pretty sure it was embezzelment or misappropriation and i was right but dang
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app


Lol!


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## Glen Cook (Aug 21, 2016)

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> Why, why must the english language have so many words that mean the same thing.....Glen u make me feel dumb sometimes...lol..had to look that one up too.  Was pretty sure it was embezzelment or misappropriation and i was right but dang
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app


Nah.  In this case it was a term of art, and one I should know, but your profession does not require. Each of us has our own professional nomenclature, including that of  our common profession as Freemasons.


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## Bloke (Aug 21, 2016)

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> Could imagine a judge writing up the decision on a court case and misspelling that one...leaving out the L....
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app



It would kind of be appropriate JD...


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