A church’s financial secretary is accused of embezzling more than half a million dollars in church money to pay for her car, bills and even her wedding, authorities said Tuesday.

Taisha Smith-DeJoseph, 43, of Willingboro, was charged with 13 crimes including second-degree theft, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said.

Smith-DeJoseph managed the finances of St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Florence. Officials contacted the prosecutor’s Financial Crimes Unit when they suspected money was missing.

Investigators learned that from 2014 to March 2019, Smith-DeJoseph opened bank accounts on behalf of the church and used those accounts for her personal gain. She is also accused of issuing checks to herself from the church and fudging the church’s monthly statements to hide its true financial state.

She allegedly spent the money on rent, car loan payments, credit cards, satellite TV and cell phone bills, hundreds of online purchases and her wedding at a venue in Burlington County.

Investigators said the total amount embezzled was $561,777.

Smith-DeJoseph filed a fraudulent income tax return in 2017, and did not file at all in 2014-2016 and in 2018.

Assistant Prosecutor Andrew McDonnell, supervisor of the Financial Crimes Unit, will prosecute the case.

A message left at St. Paul’s was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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