Business Manager Stole $1.1 Million From Main Line Church: DA

BALA CYNWYD, PA — A South Carolina man stole more than $1 million from a Main Line church, according to Montgomery County authorities.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele Friday said Sean Sweeney, 60, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, was taken into custody on multiple felony charges related to the theft of more than $1.1 million from Saint Matthias Church in Bala Cynwyd.

Sweeney is charged with two separate felony theft counts, felony receiving stolen property, felony unlawful use of a computer, and more crimes, court documents show.

The investigation into Sweeney began in December 2024 when the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Investigations referred a theft investigation to the Montgomery County Detective Bureau regarding Sweeney.

Sweeney was the Saint Matthias Church business manager from 2017 until his firing in 2024.

Investigators reviewed the church’s business and bank records, and interviewed numerous clergy members and others affiliated with the church.

Through their investigations, detectives learned Sweeney was operating two companies — Merrion Square Capital and Merrion Square Advisors — during his time as the church’s business manager, the DA's office said. In that role, Sweeney was responsible for providing the church’s payroll records processing company, PrimePay, with records for who should be paid and how much, according to the DA's office.

From 2018 through 2024, PrimePay paid by direct deposit $1,134,906.35 into bank accounts owned and controlled by Sweeney, authorities said. Bank records show deposited money received by Sweeney was used to pay his personal expenditures, including educational tuition, vehicle-related payments, and vacation costs.

Sweeney surrendered to Montgomery County Detectives Thursday.

Sweeney was released on $100,000 unsecured bail, court records show. He was also ordered to surrender his passport, have no contact with employees connected with the case, and is not allowed at or near Saint Mattias Church.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3, according to court records.