Feds Try to Seize Money, Property from Church Accused of Multimillion-Dollar Scheme Targeting Vets – By Steve Beynon (Military.com) / Jan 12, 2023
The Department of Justice is trying to seize money and property from a church group some former members describe as a cult that preyed on soldiers and veterans by bilking them out of millions of dollars of benefits.
Federal authorities are seeking some $150,000 spread across six bank accounts, a relatively small sum of money compared to what the House of Prayer ultimately earned though its bible school, which accepted millions in GI Bill funding for veterans. Authorities are also moving to seize the church’s properties.
Five of House of Prayer’s churches were raided by the FBI in June; all of the locations were near Army bases in Hinesville and Augusta, Georgia; Tacoma, Washington; Killeen, Texas; and Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Military.com was first to detail the complex alleged scheme that reportedly went on for nearly 20 years, pushing troops and veterans to relinquish their military paychecks and disability pay and use their Department of Veterans Affairs-backed home loans to drive revenue for the church. The church went as far as placing one of its own members into a job at the VA, allegedly to increase disability compensation for its members. Former members say that much of that cash ended up supporting a lavish lifestyle for the church’s leader, Rony Denis.
