Pastor Convicted of Money Laundering, Fraud, Prostitution

James Clark, former pastor of Mount Vernon United Methodist Church in Lubbock Texas was convicted of a variety of criminal charges.

The Lubbock pastor who forced a Kenyan exchange student into prostitution has also been found guilty of money laundering and fraud.

Christian Ministers Lead Training School Fraud

Charles Koen and Alex Brooks, ministers for Christian Hope Church in Chicago, Illinois ran a fictitious carpentry school scam that stole more than $2 million from banks and tax payers.

Charles Koen, a convicted felon and purported civil rights leader who runs United Front Inc. in the St. Louis area, and Alex Brooks are accused of running the sham training program to provide job skills in carpentry. Koen and Brooks identified themselves as ministers with Christian Hope Church, 7543 S. Aberdeen.

Baptist Youth Minister Admits to Six Bank Heists

James G. Madison, youth minister at Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington, New Jersey pleaded guilty to 6 bank robberies and acknowledged others.

Madison, who served time in prison for the murder of his girlfriend in the 80s - started committing the bank robberies soon after his release. At the same time, he volunteered as a youth minister in church and even contributed money.

"I, too, remain a college-educated man who still envisions the American Dream -- raising a family in my own home in the suburbs," Madison wrote to U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares. "I pray that this Court, Your Honor, does not preclude me from ever making that dream come true."

Usher Caught Stealing from Collection Basket, Not Unusual

Richard D. Sonia. long time usher at Corpus Christi Church in Newton Massachusetts, was caught stealing money from the churches collection baskets.

"They had him on film stuffing money in his pockets and in his socks," Newton police spokesman James O'Loughlin said. "It was kind of funny."

According to a survey of 177 Catholic dioceses conducted by the Villanova School of Business in 2006, such thefts are not unusual. Eighty-five percent of the dioceses surveyed had experienced a theft in the previous five years.

Christian Steals $5 Million from Employer

Jeffrey Grous, vice president and controller Conning Company in Hartford, Connecticut, was found guilty of embezzling more than $5,000,000 from his employer.

Grous was raised in a Christian fundamentalist family, where he learned that homosexuality was a sin, according to his therapist, Dr. Elliott Strick.

Yup, that family had their priorities straight. Drill into an impressionable child that being born gay is certainly far, far worse of an offense than stealing. No worries about permanent psychological trauma with that philosophy.

Christian Pastor Convicted of Fraud

Doug Scott, former pastor of the now defunct River of Life Church in Colorado Springs was found guilty buy a jury on Friday for his part in directing church members to an illegal hedge fund, led by businessman and fellow Christian Alan Bird.

Bird's Christian connections gave investors faith. Investors said Scott and Bird's father- in-law, the former president of the Christian nonprofit Bethesda Ministries, eased any concerns they may have had.

See my comments in a previous post regarding Seventh-Day Adventists in London falling for an investment scheme due to their "faith" in the honesty of fellow believers.

Baptist Pastor Admits Stealing $18,000 from Church

Sidney B. Walker, Pastor at First Baptist Church in Farrell, Pennsylvania admitted on Tuesday to stealing $18,000 of church funds in March of 2006.

When questioned, Rev. Walker told church officials he’d moved the money to another account, but by March 14, 2007, there was no record of any deposit on behalf of the church made at Sky Bank.

Baptist Convicted for Money Laundering

Nathaniel Alexander of Portsmouth Virginia was one of several people caught up in a check-kiting scheme. Olympic Medalists Steve Riddick and Marion Jones were also involved and are facing jail time.

Alexander, a Portsmouth businessman who was sharing office space with Riddick during the conspiracy, was found guilty of laundering two counterfeit checks for $1 million. He argued at trial that he thought the check was for the purchase of a business he had owned at the time. The jury didn’t believe him.

“The charges against Mr. Alexander are so out of character from his upbringing and involvement in the community,” Bishop James M. Whitaker, pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church in Portsmouth where Alexander attends services, wrote in a letter to the judge.

Seventh-Day Adventists Conned by Fellow Believers

Lindani Mangena led a scam with several co-conspirators to con fellow Seventh-Day Adventists in London out of £3.2 million.

“You may think, as you hear the evidence, that the victims were much more ready to believe what they were told because it came from members of the same tight-knit religious community.

“They naively accepted the absurd claims of the returns that they could make on the money they gave to the defendants, and their suspicions were not aroused by the absence of things like receipts that you might expect when you invested money."

Huh, imagine that. People who believe that having "faith" is good and that expecting "proof" or "evidence" for absurd claims is bad fall for a scam wherein fellow christians tell them to "just believe" and "have faith" that they'll get 25 times their investment back. Absolutely Shocking!

Methodist Minister Indicted for Theft of $300,000

Ray Robinson, former minister of the Lane Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Cleveland, Ohio was indicted today for theft of about $300,000 from the church.

Robinson, 56, secretly mortgaged the church's parsonage, used the building as collateral to obtain illegal loans and laundered the money through many bank accounts, Gutierrez said.

The minister also drained the church's Benevolent Fund earmarked for the poor, stole the identities of church members to obtain illegal credit cards, and pocketed a $5,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation for a computer training program, Gutierrez said.

Robinson just got out of federal prison in December after serving 10 months for a real estate scam in Mississippi.

Baptist Pastor Convicted of Tax Evasion

Gregory Clarke, Pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for filing false income tax returns and under reporting his earned income.

Catholic Charged with Illegal Gambling

Mark Courtney, director of St. Paul Catholic Athletic Association, was charged on Thursday with illegal bookmaking on professional sports teams. He was convicted of a similar gambling charge in 1995.

"Good Christian" to be Charged in Multiple Homicide

Joseph McEnroe, one of the suspects arrested in regards to the Christmas Eve murder of 6 people (ages 3 to 61) near Carnation, Washington is expected to be charged on Friday with first degree murder. The suspect's mother described him to reporters as a "good Christian."

Update: Joe and his girlfriend Michele Anderson have apparently admitted to the murders. Michelle killed her parents, and Joe shot the other four people, including a 6 year old girl and 3 year old boy.

Church Treasurer Arrested for Theft of Funds

The treasurer of the Trinity Christian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota was arrested Christmas eve for the theft of over $11,000 from church funds.

Pastor Scheduled to Report to Prison in April

Michael Jude Fay, a former pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church in Connecticut was given a delay until April 2nd to begin his 37 month prison sentence due to health conditions. He was convicted on Dec 4th for stealing parishioners’ money.

Pastor stole over $44,000, sentenced to 6 months.

The former pastor of a Vermont church that has since closed was sentenced for the theft of more than $44,000 from the church.

Grand Rabbi among those arrested for money laundering.

The grand rabbi of Spinka, a Brooklyn-based Hasidic sect, was among six people arrested and charged with creating a money laundering scheme that spanned from Los Angeles to Israel.

Franciscan School President charged with Sexual Abuse

Former Archbishop Ryan High School Persident charged with sexual abuse of at least three students. He also stole hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Catholic Priest convicted of Embezzlement, Business Partner convicted of Murder

A Catholic Priest was convicted of embezzlement in Costa Rica, and his business partner was convicted of murdering a journalist who denounced fraud at the priests private religious radio station.

Former Catholic Church Employee Charged with Embezzlement

A former secretary of the St. Dunstan Catholic Church in Garden Cit, Michigan has been charged with embezzling more than $100,000 of church funds. It also sounds like there might be more news to come regarding a former pastor of the same church with a gambling habit.