PHOENIX -- A Phoenix-area church is struggling with whether to return nearly $70,000 in donations that were the result of criminal activity, according to The Associated Press.
Ron Marion was sentenced this month to three years in prison and ordered to repay more than $1.6 million he embezzled from his employer, Honeywell. Marion donated some of that money to Mesa First Assembly of God, according to the AP. Marion asked the church to return the $70,000 following his conviction.
Pastor Craig Carter said the church's attorney advised him not to return the money, claiming it would set a bad precedent, according to the AP. The church is not legally obligated to return the money, but Carter is considering giving it back to Honeywell. No details were available on whether the church had spent any of the funds.
