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Former Seymour priest repays more than $20,000 he embezzled from church

SEYMOUR–A priest who was arrested for embezzlement in March is on an accelerated rehabilitation track. According to police, Father Honore Kombo, 50, of We...

SEYMOUR–A priest who was arrested for embezzlement in March is on an accelerated rehabilitation track.

According to police, Father Honore Kombo, 50, of Weston, was arrested on March 1 on charges of stealing at least $20,000 from the St. Augustine Church in Seymour, where he was a pastor.

On Wednesday, FOX 61 learned from the state’s attorney that Kombo has fully repaid the money stolen, and was thus granted accelerated rehabilitation. The church has also decided to not press charges.

The terms of the accelerated rehabilitation state that he must leave the country and return to Africa.

The investigation into the theft at the church began in April 2015 after a complaint was made to police from the Hartford Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation. The representatives told detectives that Kombo had misappropriated money left to the parish by a deceased parishioner, who had entrusted a series of five annuities to the church. However, a financial review by the church revealed the fifth annuity was never reported to church officials by Kombo, and the money was missing.

While looking into that fifth annuity, church officials found that Kombo had filed the paperwork to get the proceeds from the annuity, and that on May 6, 2013 a large check was made out to St. Augustine Church, but that the money was never deposited into the church’s bank account. Instead, it was found that Kombo opened a new bank account and put the money in there, and he then withdrew money from the account and transferred it to his personal bank account.

After the discovery was made, it was also found that other checks made out to St. Augustine had been deposited into Kombo’s account.

The investigation also revealed that on October 18, 2013 Kombo opened a line of credit at a local bank in the church’s name, using the church’s tax ID information, but that he put the funds in his own bank account.

Kombo was charged with one count of larceny in the first degree.

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