LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A former administrative assistant at Heartland Community Church in Lafayette is facing 17 felony charges after defrauding the church of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Julia Wonnacott, 36, is accused of using her position to illicitly transfer funds from the church’s bank accounts to her personal accounts for a variety of personal expenses.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department began an investigation on August 20, 2024, after Wonnacott reportedly admitted to church employees that she had been taking money. Wonnacott, who began working at HCC in February 2020, had access to all of the church’s bank accounts as an administrative assistant before her abrupt resignation.

The affidavit details a scheme in which Wonnacott trans

See Full Page