Man conned local churches of more than $10,000

A Cedar Rapids man conned several area churches out of more than $10,000 last year with a phony story of his mother's death, according to court documents.

Ky Duong Vinh, 40, was charged Thursday with first-degree theft in Linn County District Court.

According to the complaint, Vinh deceived several church organizations by “claiming a need for financial assistance to return to Vietnam for his mother's funeral and other important family matters.”

After collecting the money last June, Vinh used it for other purposes. He never went to Vietnam, the complaint said, and “the claimed need for assistance was a complete fabrication.”

“It's a little bizarre, but if you're good a this sort of thing you're probably believable,” said the Rev. Ivan Nienhaus of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids, one of those victimized.

Nienhaus, who wasn't personally familiar with the incident, said St. Patrick's limits such emergency donations to $100.

“We're in the business of helping people, and any organization here in Cedar Rapids would be in the same boat,” he said. “You don't have a database at your disposal. You can't do that stuff at the drop of the hat, so you listen to their stories.”

Vinh posted bail and was released after an initial court appearance.