Pastor Pleads Guilty to Stealing $130,000 from New Hampshire Church
He took advantage of a crisis in the church to carry out his fraud
The executive pastor of Journey Church in Barrington, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to using the church’s debit and credit cards to make unauthorized purchases. He will be sentenced in federal court in July.
From January 2017 to March 2020, Gregory Neal used church funds to pay off his own gambling debts and purchase items for his own benefit that totaled $130,000. A single act of wire fraud is punishable with fines and up to 20 years in prison.
Journey Church lead pastor Rob Willis told MinistryWatch that the fraudulent activity took place while he and the church were in a vulnerable state.
“The crime began during the time my late wife was dying of cancer, and in the final year of her illness, this former employee began taking advantage of this desperate situation, abusing the oversight given to him, making unauthorized ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases; falsifying reports to our financial officers; and systematically dismantling accountability structures that should have prevented his malpractice,” Willis explained.
Willis said Neal was one of his closest friends, but Neal used his position and relationship to take advantage of him and the church. Other church leaders were reluctant to question matters because of Neal’s friendship with Willis.
When Willis discovered the theft, he fired Neal and reported it to local law enforcement. The church did an internal audit and then hired an accounting firm to conduct an audit and recommend preventative policies and procedures for matters such as counting contributions, bank deposits, and bookkeeping.
“By the time we finished this process in 2021, we were applauded by the accounting firm as doing an excellent job to correct what had been broken,” Willis said.
While no church wants to be the victim of fraud from within, Willis encourages other churches to learn from Journey Church’s experience.
“Regardless of someone’s relational status to the lead pastor, questions should always be asked and accountability must never be sidetracked, even in the smallest of ways in the seemingly smallest of matters,” Willis emphasized. “This man began in small ways doing unauthorized activities, and as it went unnoticed, he increased his activity. But some things could have been detected early if we hadn’t been so trusting.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why does MinistryWatch report on financial fraud in the church? We report on them because one in three churches will be victimized, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. We also report on them because these crimes have real victims and cost taxpayers and other stakeholders billions of dollars every year. Even small crimes in small churches have huge consequences. We also report on them to remind our readers that they do not have to be victims. There are steps you can take to prevent financial waste, fraud, and abuse in your church or ministry. To find out more, click here.
Main photo: Journey Church in Barrington, New Hampshire / Google
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