A Georgia pastor has been indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges, related to stealing thousands of dollars in COVID-19 assistance funds and using some of the money to buy a luxury car.
Mack Devon Knight, 45, of Refreshing Oasis Christian Center in Kingsland, Georgia is accused of lying to the Small Business Administration in applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.
If convicted, the Kingsland man could face financial penalties and up to 30 years in prison, followed by a period of supervised release.
Knight also describes himself as a mortician, restauranteur and tax preparer, the release says.
He applied for the loans in February and March on behalf of two Camden County businesses. According to the indictment, the applications falsely claimed that the businesses each had hundreds of thousands of dollars in gross revenue before the pandemic.
Your tax-deductible gift helps our journalists report the truth and hold Christian leaders and organizations accountable. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive a copy of “Hurt and Healed by the Church” by Ryan George. To donate, click here.
In one example of fraud, Knight sent in a false bank document and one of the applications was approved. The indictment says he received $149,000, a portion of which was used to buy a Mercedes-Benz sedan.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Knight had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
English 
Spanish
3 Responses
The number of businesses and churches who fraudulently took money would astound you. Here was their mindset (and it was recommend by others) “it’s free money so why not!” It isn’t free money. It’s taxpayers money from the magical fairy money tree. A church should be supported by its’ members. I have no problem if a day care or preschool needed funds to support its teachers due to the sudden shut down, but have no bit of agreement for a church to take it. You can lookup what churches in your area took funds on a public website just by searching for it. Another way to know – look around your area and see how many churches are suddenly doing a renovation or building program. It’s shameful if that is being funded by taxpayer dollars.
Another sad saga of a fake Minister that wants to live the life of a “Player” while pretending to be a “MAN OF GOD”. This is what GREED does to you!
If convicted he faces 30 years behind bars. Sadly I suspect if convicted he will get no more than 30 days behind bars and will be back on the job in no time.