A Roman Catholic priest who is accused of embezzling money from a church in Seymour appear in court on Monday, where the case was continued to March 30.
Police started investigating Father Honore Kombo, 50, of Weston, in April 2015 after a representatives from the Hartford Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation contacted them and told police they suspected Kombo of misappropriating money given to the church by a deceased parishioner.
Police said they found that a fifth annuity had been left to the church by a deceased parishioner and Kombo had filed the necessary paperwork requesting the proceeds for this annuity.
In May 2013, a "large sum of money" in the form of a check was made payable to St. Augustine Church and received by Kombo. The priest opened a bank account and deposited the annuity proceeds before withdrawing the "large sum" and depositing it to a personal account, police said.
According to investigation findings, in Oct. 2013, Kombo had opened a line of credit account at a local bank in the name of St. Augustine's Church utilizing the church's tax identification information. Kombo would take the funds from this link of credit account and deposit a majority into his personal account, police said.
Last July, Kombo was removed from the parish.
Kombo has been charged with first-degree larceny.
