Former Nonprofit Executive Who Defrauded the Organization of More Than $1.6 Million Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison, Six Months of Home Confinement

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that John A. Miller, 77, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 10 months in prison, two years of supervised release with six months of home confinement, and $1,626,556 in restitution by United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge for defrauding the nonprofit organization for which he worked of more than $1.6 million and laundering the fraud proceeds.

The defendant was charged by superseding indictment in May 2025 and pleaded guilty this March to one count of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction involving criminally derived property.

As detailed in court filings and statements, Miller served as the executive director and treasurer of a Philadelphia-based religious nonprofit organization that provided financial assistance to the widows and orphans of deceased clergy members.

From 2015 through 2022, he diverted money to himself by masking wires intended for beneficiaries with personal checks issued to himself. To conceal the payments, Miller made false and misleading records in the nonprofit's internal accounting ledgers. In total, Miller misappropriated more than $1.6 million.

After Miller diverted the nonprofit funds into his personal accounts, he used the proceeds for personal expenses, including luxury travel and the purchase of a luxury condominium in Philadelphia. After being made aware of the fraud investigation, Miller liquidated the proceeds by selling the property. Despite the sale, law enforcement agents seized the fraudulent proceeds as the transaction took place.

This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alisa Shver, J. Andrew Jenemann, and Alexander Bowerman.