A Louisiana pastor has been convicted of stealing more than $343,000 (£257,000) from a church he oversaw, following a federal investigation.
Dale Sanders Sr., 56, was found guilty by a jury of 25 counts involving wire fraud, access device fraud and obstruction of a federal investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana said.
Sanders, pastor of Fifth African Baptist Church in New Orleans and Second New Guide Missionary Baptist Church in Metairie, was convicted after a five-day trial. U.S. District Judge Brandon Long scheduled sentencing for 13 October.
He faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of at least $250,000 (£188,000) and up to three years of supervised release.
Prosecutors said Sanders transferred money from one church’s bank accounts into accounts he controlled and used the funds for personal expenses, including gambling, dining and living costs.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “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.”
The office added: “Sanders was also found guilty of obstruction of a federal investigation for providing a falsified record in response to a grand jury subpoena.”
Before his conviction, Sanders denied the allegations in a Facebook video, saying they were linked to a dispute with a former church finance manager.
“I shielded what was going on. Shielded this gentleman, covered it to the expense of my own exposure,” he said.
“I’m not a perfect man,” Sanders acknowledged. “Dale Sanders has never suggested to anyone that he was a perfect man. But there are some things I would never do. And what I’m being accused of is something I have never done.”
Sanders is the son of Rev. Leroy Sanders Sr., a longtime Baptist pastor who faced similar accusations decades earlier. The elder Sanders was arrested, but the charges were later dropped after two years of legal proceedings.
Dale Sanders has written about his father’s experience in his book, Termites in the Church.