Sinful! Louisiana Pastor Admits He Stole Nearly $1Million From Church

For over thirty years, the congregations of First Emanuel Baptist Church in New Orleans and Baton Rouge have looked to Charles Southall III for Christian guidance.

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Little did they know that while preaching to them about the evils of an earthly life, and the Ten Commandments, the well-known pastor was secretly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the church.

The Pastor Took The Money From Several Different Places/People

According to an article from theguardian.com, Southall pleaded guilty this week to charges of money-laundering and confessed he had stolen "nearly $900,000 from his church, affiliated rental properties, his congregants and a charter school."

The charges go on to state that Southall had embezzled donations from the congregation, took grant and loan funds designated for an Academy he had created and additionally took monies from rental and sale payments on properties owned by the church.

He Used The Money To Pay For His Credit Card Bills?

The prosecution contended that the pastor had taken the money to cover credit card bills and other personal expenses. (Who runs up $900,000 in credit card bills?)

Court documents show that in a plea agreement, Southall has agreed to repay the stolen funds to the victims, however, on January 17, he could still receive a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Just my thinking here, that 10 years could be a walk in the park for the sentencing he could ultimately face if he doesn’t get things straight with the Good Lord.