House of Prayer, Accused of Bilking Veterans Out of Millions, Said to Be Stonewalling Investigation – By Steve Beynon (Military.com) / April 18, 2024
Federal prosecutors say a church accused of scamming veterans out of millions of dollars’ worth of benefits is stalling an investigation and should be held in contempt of court and fined.
House of Prayer, which has locations across Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and Washington state, has effectively ignored demands to produce documentation, prosecutors said in an April 4 court filing, as part of an investigation into what could be one of the largest scams targeting the military community ever.
A Military.com investigation found that the church allegedly used a complex scheme for nearly 20 years to bilk millions of dollars from veterans’ military paychecks and disability pay, as well as use their GI Bill and Department of Veterans Affairs home loans to generate revenue for the church — whose leadership lived lavish lifestyles.
