PHILADELPHIA, PA — A former executive director and treasurer of a Philadelphia religious nonprofit was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in federal prison and ordered to repay more than $1.6 million after admitting he diverted money intended to support widows and orphans of deceased clergy members.
John A. Miller, 77, of Philadelphia, was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge to two years of supervised release, including six months of home confinement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was ordered to pay $1,626,556 in restitution.
Miller pleaded guilty in March to one count of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction involving criminally derived property. He had been charged by superseding indictment in May 2025.
According to court filings and statements cited by prosecutors, Miller served as executive director and treasurer of a Philadelphia-based religious nonprofit that provided financial assistance to widows and orphans of deceased clergy members.
From 2015 through 2022, Miller diverted more than $1.6 million from the organization by disguising wire transfers intended for beneficiaries with personal checks issued to himself, prosecutors said.
Miller also created false and misleading entries in the nonprofit’s internal accounting ledgers to conceal the payments, according to prosecutors.
After transferring the money into his personal accounts, Miller spent the proceeds on personal expenses that included luxury travel and a luxury condominium in Philadelphia, prosecutors said.
Authorities said Miller later sold the condominium after learning of the fraud investigation. Law enforcement agents seized the proceeds as the sale was taking place, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alisa Shver, J. Andrew Jenemann and Alexander Bowerman prosecuted it.
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