UNITED STATES: Pastor convicted of stealing over $340K from church account for gambling, personal expenses
A Louisiana pastor and author has been convicted of stealing over $340,000 from his congregations to fund his gambling and personal expenses.
Dale Sanders, 56, was found guilty of a 25-count indictment charging him with wire fraud, access device fraud, and obstruction of a federal investigation after a five-day jury trial last week, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Sanders, of Kenner, withdrew funds held in one church’s bank accounts and transferred them to his own pocket to subsidize his lavish personal expenditures — including gambling, dining, and living expenses, prosecutors said.
Sanders worked as a pastor at the Fifth African Baptist Church in New Orleans and Second New Guide Missionary Baptist Church in Metairie, according to his social media.
He also used a church debit card for unauthorized personal transactions and received cash, goods, and services totaling over $340,000, officials said.
The fraud took place between April 2020 and April 2024, according to an indictment.
The cash-obsessed pastor also provided a falsified record in response to a grand jury subpoena, prosecutors detailed.
After Sanders was indicted in April, he posted a video to his social media accounts asking his congregants to “pray” for his “enemy.”
He thanked churchgoers for “calling, texting, seeing me in person, and telling me that you’re praying for me.”
“And believe this,” Sanders said. “I feel your prayers. God is already working and moving by his Spirit.”
“This is what you can do for me … I know you’re praying for me. But I need you to pray a Matthew 5:44 prayer. I need you to pray for my enemy.”
“The Bible says, ‘Pray for them that despitefully use you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my namesake,” he continued. “If you pray for my enemy, God will not only bless me, but he will deal with them.”
The pastor frequently posted videos on social media delivering sermons and singing during his church services.
He also authored the book, “Strut your Stutter,” urging people to “be peacock proud of whoever you are and whatever you’re working with.”
Sanders faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release after serving time behind bars, and payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count.
He is to be sentenced on Oct. 13.