Mormon church agrees to repay $150,000 in tithing paid by fraudster

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The LDS Church has agreed to return $150,000 of tithing received from Curtis and Michelle DeYoung stemming from their operation of a business that held self-directed IRA's from which Curtis DeYoung misappropriated nearly $25 million.

The church had been sued in federal court by the court-appointed receiver of the DeYoungs' company, American Pension Services, for return of $239,755 in donations. The receiver, Los Angeles attorney Diane Thompson, argued the money came from the DeYoungs' ill-gotten gains and should be returned.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints countered, claiming in part that the receiver had to show that each transfer of money from APS to the DeYoungs was fraudulent.

The sides reached a settlement that was approved by the court last week.

Curtis DeYoung is serving a 10-year sentence at a federal prison in Florence, Colo., after pleading guilty to two charges. Michelle DeYoung was not charged but was named in a lawsuit brought against APS and the DeYoungs by the Securities and Exchange Commission.