ALBAWABA - An American woman from Alabama made headlines after news circulated that she stole money from a church for TikTok coins which is a currency used to donate to the platform's creators.
35-year-old Kristen Marie Battocletti stole around $300,000 from a church she worked at by using a parish credit card and making around 600 transactions over the course of seven months, according to The Washington Post.
In detail, Battocletti spent $70,000 in Jun. 2023, $105,000 in Jul. 2023, and $75,000 in Aug. 2023, according to judge L. Scott Coogler.
Woman steals money from church for TikTok
Battocletti is expected to serve 20 years in prison and be fined $250,000 after being accused of embezzling funds from St. Francis of Assisi University Parish in Tuscaloosa, as reported by the Catholic News Agency. Moreover, she pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Jul. 23, 2024.
Similar to Battocletti, a Pennsylvania priest was arrested for misusing parish money by purchasing video games for tens of thousands of dollars.
What is TikTok?
Kaunas, Lithuania - 2023 March 26: TikTok logo on the screen and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on blurred background. (Shutterstock)
TikTok is a social media video-sharing platform similar to its predecessors Vine and Musical.ly where users worldwide share short clips of themselves dancing while lip-syncing to music, drawing, doing skits, and even covering news.
Recently China's video-sharing platform has been facing legal issues with the USA as it claimed that the Chinese government could access sensitive user data, leading to multiple court hearings and even the threat of banning it across the country.
