NORRISTOWN — Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele announced the arrest of Sean Michael Sweeney, 60, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., for multiple felony charges related to the theft of more than $1.1 million from Saint Matthias Catholic Church in Bala Cynwyd.
In December 2024, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Investigations referred a theft/embezzlement investigation to the Montgomery County Detective Bureau involving the former Saint Matthias Church business manager.
Sweeney had served as the church’s business manager from 2017 until his firing in 2024.
Steele gave the following account of the investigation in a press release issued late Friday:
Montgomery County Detectives began an extensive review of the church’s business and bank records, and interviewed numerous clergy members and others affiliated with the church.
The investigation found that Sweeney was operating two companies — Merrion Square Capital and Merrion Square Advisors — during his time as the church’s business manager. As business manager, Sweeney was responsible for providing the church’s payroll records processing company, PrimePay, with records for who should be paid and how much.
The investigation found that from 2018 through 2024, PrimePay paid by direct deposit $1,134,906.35 into bank accounts owned and controlled by Sweeney. Bank records show that the money deposited by Sweeney was used to pay his personal expenditures, including educational tuition, vehicle-related payments and vacation costs.
Sweeney, who previously listed addresses in Berwyn and Wynnewood, turned himself in to Montgomery County Detectives on Nov. 20.
He is charged with felony theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, and unlawful use of a communications facility, as well as misdemeanor tampering with records and securing execution of documents by deception.
He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Todd N. Barnes, who set bail at $100,000 unsecured.
Sweeney also had to surrender his passport, must have no contact with employees connected with the case, and is not allowed at or near Saint Matthias Church.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for noon on Dec. 3, before Magisterial District Judge Karen Eisner Zucker.
