Church child care director arrested on charges of defrauding congregation of $500K

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Thursday, April 09, 2026

An administrator has been arrested for allegedly defrauding a Georgia church of more than $500,000, with additional charges pending, authorities said.

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday the arrest of Tiffany Alyan Watson, a 39-year-old resident of Gray, in connection with more than $500,000 allegedly taken from Riverside United Methodist Church.

Watson, who is being held without bond, faces multiple felony charges, including computer theft, first-degree forgery, fiduciary theft by taking, financial identity fraud, money laundering, theft by conversion and theft by deception.

She was also charged with evasion of income tax, penalty, interest or other and violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law.

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division responded last October to a complaint from leaders of the United Methodist Church South Georgia Conference regarding concerns over the "financial status, debt, and general financial operations of the Riverside United Methodist Church."

"It was reported after numerous attempts to secure cooperation into the financial workings of church committees and the church administrator, the church leadership contracted a forensic accountant to work with the church's bank and determine the financial solvency of the church," explained the sheriff's office.

"During the investigation over the next several months, The Criminal Investigation Division discovered criminal findings dating back as far as 2022 through 2025 when the church was closed."

Police found that more than $500,000 had been taken from the church "without proper authority and converted to personal use," with investigators finding that "a criminal enterprise was created."

Watson, who had served as church administrator and co-director of the Riverside UMC Children Center, was eventually identified as a person of interest in the theft investigation.

Watson met with authorities Tuesday morning. She was then transported to the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center, the sheriff's office said, adding that the "investigation is still active."

Last October, around the time the conference contacted the police, Riverside UMC announced that it was closing after about 70 years of operation due to financial difficulties.

"It shocked us," one longtime Riverside UMC member told the Macon-based 13 WMAZ. "They locked it, changed the lock on Friday, locked us out. We could not get in the building to have service."

Riverside UMC had previously attempted to sell its property to Encounter Church, a nondenominational congregation that leased the property, according to 13 WMAZ, but the conference reportedly prevented the transaction.