The minority leader of Hartford’s City Council is accused of embezzling from a Hartford church while he was an employee at the religious institution and moving the money to a shell company, then to his personal accounts.
Hartford police said they took a complaint on June 4 about the embezzlement of funds from South Church in Hartford between April 2023 to April 2024 and identified the suspect as Alex Thomas, 27, of Hartford.
The mayor’s office said Thomas is a member of the city council.
The Hartford Police Major Crimes Fraud Division began investigating and determined that Thomas misused the church credit card to direct funds to a shell company, then to his personal accounts while he was employed by the church, police said.
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He turned himself in to the Hartford Police Department on Tuesday and he has been charged with money laundering in the second degree and larceny in the second degree.
Thomas was the Associate Pastor at South Church where the organization said he ran youth group every week.
"There's an overwhelming feeling of sadness, disappointment, sure, there's a level of betrayal,” said Rev. Dr. Adam Soderberg, of South Church.
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Soderberg says the church noticed financial irregularities in 2023. He says Thomas spent $49,000 on his ministry, which was only budgeted $25,000.
"One assumes some of it was legitimately used to fund the ministry because we had a ministry, but how much of it was misappropriated -- we don’t know,” said Soderberg.
A year later, he says they discovered there was more money mismanagement adding up to at least $15,000.
Soderberg say Thomas claimed the money was going to different ministries, and even the YMCA of Greater Hartford. Police say Thomas was putting church money into shell companies and allegedly pocketing it.
“It's all about accountability. This is not where we wanted to be. I do not wish ill will on Alex or the family but it was not something that could be ignored,” said Soderberg.
Thomas worked for the YMCA of Greater Hartford before he worked at South Church.
“We are aware of the recent arrest of Mr. Thomas, a former employee who resigned from the YMCA of Greater Hartford in August 2021, and we have no knowledge of these allegations," Harold Sparrow, President & CEO of the YMCA of Greater Hartford Harold Sparrow said in a statement. "The YMCA is committed to transparency, accountability, and upholding the highest standards of integrity. We remain focused on our mission to strengthen our community through our core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.”
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam released a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
"The City of Hartford holds its officials to high standards of integrity and accountability, and we trust the judicial process to determine the facts and follow the appropriate process in place. While this pertains to an ongoing investigation, the City cannot provide further comment,” he said.
Council President Shirley Surgeon also released a statement.
"As members of the Hartford City Council, it’s incumbent upon all of us to uphold the values and trust placed in us by the residents of our City. There’s an appropriate legal process in place, and I trust our local law enforcement to see that process through. In the meantime, the City Council remains focused on serving the residents of Hartford,” she said.
Alex Thomas’s biography for Hartford City Council says he has been active in community organizations like Hartford City Mission and the Hartford Artist’s Collective. We reached out to both of those organizations but have not heard back.
We spoke with some Hartford residents who say learning about this situation has altered their trust in the City Council.
"We trust our public servants. If we trust the public servants, you can’t have people like that around,” said Ivan Munoz.
"It’s very disappointing because when you start trusting someone, especially a councilmember and putting their trust in them you're already vulnerable,” said Michael Kennedy.
We spoke with Thomas’s attorney, who says they have not received the arrest warrant yet so cannot comment at this time.
Thomas’s next appearance in court is Oct. 29.
