CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Gulf to Lake Church’s senior pastor said his ex-wife was arrested last week for allegedly misusing church funds over a period of more than seven to eight years.

According to Citrus County Sheriff’s Office records, Nancy Bertine, 74, was arrested under a warrant on July 24 for a scheme to defraud $50,000 or more, along with grand theft of $100,000 or more.

“She had misused a church credit card for a large amount and that had been under investigation,” said Lloyd Bertine, senior lead pastor of Gulf to Lake Church.

Bertine spoke with News Channel 8 over the phone Sunday and said he’d been married to Nancy until they divorced in January. He added that he did not know she had been misusing funds for nearly a decade.

“What happened was falsifying the records of what was being purchased and that’s why we never knew,” Bertine said.

Bertine said congregation leaders found out about what had occurred around Feb. 1, which launched an investigation from local law enforcement and the subpoenaing of records from Amazon.

The church hosts two services each Sunday, at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and offers livestreams as well.

Bertine told News Channel 8 a trustee of the church told the congregation the news on Sunday. However, only those who attended the service in person received the details, as those controlling the livestream were told to turn off the stream for the announcement.

“It was just to inform the congregation of what we found that Nancy had done, what we had done about it, and contacting law enforcement,” Bertine explained. “We all have agreed to pray for her and pray that something will be learned.”

Bertine said Nancy has given written notice that she will repay the funds and has money in her account to do so.

“She has the money from selling our house that she can use to repay everything.”

Due to this alleged incident, Bertine said church leaders have decided to make changes in financial operations to ensure this does not happen again.

“If every minister had their own church issued credit card, we’re not going to do that anymore, it’ll be central,” Bertine said.

News Channel 8 reached out to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office for additional information as to how much money was spent.