Woman manipulated into making $300K in purchases for woman because it was God's will

TURTLE CREEK, Pa. — A Turtle Creek woman is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a fellow church parishioner by convincing the parishioner that it was God's will to help her financially, police said.

Judith Irvin allegedly stole nearly $300,000 from the parishioner, Kathy Sanford, over several years, according to police. The two met at Greater Works Church in Monroeville, and Sanford considered Irvin to be a friend.

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Investigators said Irvin claimed it was divine intervention that Sanford help Irvin when she needed money to pay for her bills, rent, gas and vehicle repairs, or when a relative died.

A criminal complaint stated Irvin would tell Sanford things like, "God came to her in her dreams" and that Sanford was "the chosen one to help people."

But it didn't stop there.

Police said Irvin claimed God wanted Sanford to buy her items including Louis Vuitton purses and a diamond ring. Since 2014, Sanford made 55 withdrawals and eight purchases that benefited Irvin to the tune of $281,928.

According to the complaint, "The victim (Sanford) stated that she wanted to be in God's good graces and she would have done anything to please Him; therefore she never thought it was unusual for the actor (Irvin) to ask for money or for herself to provide it."

Sanford's daughter, who did not want to be identified, has a warning for anyone who has encountered Irvin.

"If anybody has dealt with this woman and you know that there's a family member out there, please check all of their financial records. Go back and look through, dig up and see if you can see anything this woman had taken," she told Channel 11's Joe Holden.

Sanford's daughter said her mother suffers from post-concussion syndrome, which clouds her judgment.

"With my mom's post-concussion syndrome, she's (Irvin) watched my mom deteriorate and she preyed upon that using God as her inlet to get money from my mom," she said.

WPXI