LOWER MERION — The former business manager at a Bala Cynwyd church must answer to charges in Montgomery County Court that he embezzled more than $1.1 million from the church.
Sean Michael Sweeney, 60, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., was ordered to stand trial, after a preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Karen Eisner Zucker, on charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, unlawful use of a computer, tampering with records and secure execution of documents by deception in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between 2017 and 2024 while he was business manager at Saint Matthias Catholic Church in the Bala Cynwyd section of Lower Merion.
Sweeney now faces a formal arraignment hearing on the charges in county court on Feb. 25. After that hearing, a county judge will set Sweeney’s trial date.
Sweeney remains free on $100,000 unsecured bail pending his next court hearing. As conditions of bail, Sweeney had to surrender his passport, is prohibited from having contact with employees connected with the case and is not allowed at or near Saint Matthias Church.
Sweeney, who previously listed addresses in Berwyn and Wynnewood, turned himself in to Montgomery County detectives on Nov. 20.
Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Marie Kull is handling the case. Defense lawyer Thomas C. Egan III represented Sweeney during the court proceedings.
Sweeney had served as the church’s business manager from 2017 until his firing in 2024.
The investigation of Sweeney began in December 2024, when the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Investigations referred theft/embezzlement allegations to the Montgomery County Detective Bureau.
During the investigation, county detectives conducted an extensive review of the church’s business and bank records and interviewed numerous clergy members and other church-affiliated individuals.
The investigation found that Sweeney was operating two companies — Merrion Square Capital and Merrion Square Advisors — during his time as the church’s business manager. As business manager, Sweeney was responsible for providing the church’s payroll records processing company, PrimePay, with records for who should be paid and how much.
The investigation found that from 2018 through 2024, PrimePay paid by direct deposit $1,134,906.35 into bank accounts owned and controlled by Sweeney. Bank records show that the money deposited by Sweeney was used to pay his personal expenditures, including educational tuition, vehicle-related payments and vacation costs, according to court documents.