A United States pastor, Dale Sanders, has been convicted of stealing more than $340,000 from two churches in Louisiana to fund gambling and other personal expenses.
A jury found the 56-year-old guilty on 25 counts of wire fraud, access device fraud and obstruction of a federal investigation following a five-day trial before US District Judge Brandon S. Long.
The conviction was announced by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana in a statement obtained by PUNCH Online on Thursday from the website of the US Department of Justice.
According to prosecutors, Sanders “defrauded Church A and Church B in order to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.”
The statement read, “SANDERS would withdraw funds and transfer money held in Church A’s bank accounts to accounts controlled by SANDERS. The money was used to fund his personal expenditures, to include gambling, dining, and living expenses.”
It added that Sanders “utilized Church A’s debit card for unauthorized personal transactions and received cash, goods and services totaling over $340,000 that he was not entitled to.”
