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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that the former pastor of a Newark
church was indicted today on charges he
stole nearly $160,000 that he fraudulently
solicited as loans from parishioners and
religious associates.
According
to Director Paw, the Division of Criminal
Justice obtained a six-count state grand
jury indictment charging Steven Parrott,
52, of Newark, former pastor of the Lighthouse
Temple Church, with second-degree theft
by deception, second-degree misconduct by
a corporate official, third-degree theft
by failure to make required disposition
of property received (two counts), third-degree
theft of services, and third-degree passing
bad checks.
Parrott
allegedly stole $159,850 from five victims
named in the indictment. In each case, Parrott
asked to borrow the money, claiming he would
pay the victims back quickly with large
sums of interest. Parrott falsely told one
victim he needed money to bury a family
member. He told the other victims that “the
Lord” wanted him to ask for the money
to repair his church and make a down payment
on a $6 million dollar project to create
an after-school program in memory of his
father. One parishioner who has known Parrott
all of her life gave him $75,000.
Parrott
falsely claimed he was about to receive
a major grant for the memorial project and
would pay the loans back with that money,
which was supposed to come from the government
or a wealthy donor. It is charged that Parrott
lied about the project and never intended
to repay the money. Rather than spending
the money on the church, he used it to pay
his personal expenses.
“This
defendant exploited the trust that parishioners
and religious associates placed in him as
a church pastor,” said Attorney General
Milgram. “We charge that he callously
betrayed that trust, lying to his victims
and stealing their money.”
The
Lighthouse Temple Church is a small parish
on Market Street in Newark that is part
of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of
the Apostolic Faith Inc., a New York-based
Pentecostal denomination with member churches
located primarily in the eastern United
States. In addition to serving as pastor,
Parrott previously served as a bishop for
the national church, leading a diocese that
included churches in Mercer, Essex and Hudson
counties. He was removed from all church
posts after the alleged thefts came to light
last year.
The five victims who
were fraudulently solicited for loans included
the following individuals:
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The parishioner who gave him $75,000.
They were neighbors as children, but she
now lives in Burlington County. The money
was the proceeds of a military insurance
policy she had just received on the death
of her son. Parrott promised to pay her
back $100,000.
-
Another bishop who was ordained with Parrott
and gave him amounts totaling $44,850
to build a “Family Life Center”
in honor of his father. Parrott promised
to pay him $85,000. Parrott showed him
paperwork purportedly for a $2 million
grant he was to receive.
-
A parishioner and her son who gave Parrott
$20,000. Parrott claimed he was about
to receive $6 million for the church project
from a wealthy benefactor, and even set
up a phone call between the son and a
woman who pretended to be the secretary
of the donor. Parrott promised to pay
the mother and son $70,000 within a month.
-
A cousin of Parrott who gave him $10,000.
-
A fellow pastor from Virginia who gave
him $10,000 to bury a family member. There
was no death in Parrott’s family.
Parrott
also is charged with stealing three checks
that he received in his position as the
corresponding secretary for the National
Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic
Faith. All of the checks represented annual
payments from churches to the national church
in connection with its annual convention
in July 2007. Parrott received a check for
$5,312.05 from the bishop of a diocese in
South Carolina, and he received two checks
totaling $3,000 from his own brother, who
was financial secretary for the diocese
Parrott led. Parrott was required to remit
the checks to the national church, but he
allegedly deposited them into an account
for his own church and stole the proceeds
for personal use.
Parrott
is charged with theft of services for failing
to pay rent on a two-room suite at the Staybridge
Suites hotel in South Brunswick. Parrott
and his family stayed in the suite at a
cost of $99 per night from September 2005
through October 2007, when they were evicted
for failure to pay rent. Parrott stopped
paying rent around September 2006 and owes
the hotel $54,874. He is charged with passing
a bad check for giving the hotel manager
a check for $17,076.80 in September 2006
and then stopping payment on it.
Detective
Richard Watson, Principal Research Analyst
Rita Gillis and Deputy Attorney General
Valerie Noto conducted the investigation
for the Division of Criminal Justice Major
Crimes Bureau. Deputy Attorney General Noto
presented the case to the state grand jury.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000,
while third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000
fine. The indictment is merely an accusation
and the defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County.
The case was assigned to Burlington County,
where Parrott will be ordered to appear
at a later date to answer the charges. A
copy of the indictment is available with
this press release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
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