SAN DIEGO -- A financial expert whose review of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego found that parishes within the diocese withheld millions in surplus funds and hid money will be questioned about his findings in federal court this month.

Attorneys representing about 150 victims of sexual abuse by priests and other church personnel seized upon the findings by court-appointed financial expert R. Todd Neilson as proof that the diocese is not being honest in its bankruptcy case, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Neilson, a former FBI agent and expert in bankruptcy and forensic accounting, was appointed in April by federal bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler to examine nearly 1,000 bank accounts held by the diocese and its 98 parishes.

His report said that assertions by diocese officials in bankruptcy court that tens of millions of dollars in assets are held in trust for various parishes and do not belong to the diocese "were in direct contradiction to the assertions" made in recent years to banks and bond-market investors, the newspaper reported.

According to Neilson's review, two parishes in Imperial County tried to conceal nearly $350,000 from the bankruptcy court, the Union-Tribune reported.

He is scheduled to be questioned at an Aug. 23 hearing before Adler.

Micheal Webb, an attorney for the diocese, said the 175-page report released Monday contained "a small number of problems, all of which have been corrected or are in the process of being corrected," the newspaper reported.