House of Prayer leaders face contempt charges for failing to comply with investigation
The U.S. Attorney's Office is asking a federal court to hold a Georgia-based church accused of scamming hundreds of military veterans out of their G.I. bill entitlements in civil contempt after failing to respond to multiple court orders.
Following FBI raids at House of Prayer locations in Georgia, Washington state, North Carolina and Texas in July 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a number of petitions in federal court to force the House of Prayer Christian Church and House of Prayer Bible Seminary to provide subpoenaed documents as part of multiple civil investigative demands.
Civil investigative demands are requests for information listed in a subpoena. If CIDs are not complied with, the government can impose criminal contempt charges.
The requests were made to determine whether the bible seminaries or those associated with them submitted false claims for veterans' education and housing benefits offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to court documents.
Government attorneys last month filed a motion in U.S. District Court requesting church leaders Gerard Robertson, Marcus Labat and William Pilkington, provide sworn certificates of compliance with new investigative demands.
After failing to respond within the allotted 10-day time period, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion on Sept. 26, seeking an answer as to why they should not be held in civil contempt for failing to comply with a court order.
The attorney's office stated the bible school, church conglomerate and mentioned leaders should be issued a conditional fine of $1,000, plus a conditional daily fine of $200 until they comply with the court order, according to court documents.
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Other CIDs the church has failed to comply with
The U.S. Attorney's Office began petitioning the court months ago to enforce an investigative demand issued to the House of Prayer Bible Seminary, according to court documents. While the bible school initially agreed to turn over the documents, they later refused.
Another CID was issued, to which the school did not respond at all.
On Sept. 8, the U.S. Attorney's Office sent a letter to Robertson, the church's CEO and bible school's director; Labat, the church's secretary and bible school's controller; and Pilkington, the church's CFO; stating they would be individually held in contempt for failing to respond.
That letter went unanswered until Sept. 15, the final date the bible seminary had to comply, according to court records. The church's attorney contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office on Sept. 15, stating she was recently contracted and asked the office not to seek contempt while she reviewed the case.
The church's attorney then filed a motion a few days later, asking for a time extension, which was denied, according to court documents.
In the most recent motion, the U.S. Attorney's Office wrote the school has "not even indicated [the responses to the CIDs] are forthcoming."
How we got here
After receiving multiple reports of the House of Prayer Christian Church exploiting military veterans for their GI Bill benefits, Veterans Education Success asked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Georgia Veterans Service to investigate in August 2020.
Veterans alleged House of Prayer Christian Church "deceives the VA during inspections and targets veterans in order to access GI Bill funding, VA disability compensation, and VA home loans," according to previous reporting.
Following the FBI raids in June 2022, several leaders were named in a notice of forfeiture filed on Jan. 6 by the Department of Justice in the Southern District of Georgia.
The forfeiture, which claimed House of Prayer and its bible seminary defrauded hundreds of military members in a more than $22 million scheme, was for six accounts opened at South Georgia Bank and First Citizens Bank and Trust, altogether containing more than $150,000, according to previous reporting.
Civil judicial forfeiture is a court proceeding brought against property that was derived from or used to commit an offense, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. There is no criminal conviction required, although the government is still required to prove in court the property was linked to criminal activity.
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FBI and Department of Veteran's Affairs stated in the motion the church established locations near military bases in order to target military service members and veterans.
The agencies also noted the church used "various psychological efforts" including public shaming, financial coercion, and control of minute aspects of the military members' and veterans’ lives to exploit them economically, according to previous reporting. Church members were directed to enroll in the bible school and use their GI Bill benefits to pay for the alleged education.
The forfeiture also was the first official court document filed containing church leaders' names. All but one of the leaders reside in Georgia.
Among those named were Rony Denis, who has homes in the Georgia cities of Martinez and Hinesville and is the founder of the church, according to incorporation documents.
Also included:
Phebe Ruth Denis, of Martinez, Georgia
Marjorie Robertson Denis, of Martinez, Georgia
Dennis Nostrant, of Hinesville, Georgia
Marcus Labat, of Hinesville, Georgia
Anthony Oloans, of Hinesville, Georgia
Jeffrey Derby, of Hinesville, Georgia
Gerard Robertson, of Hinesville, Georgia
James B. Benton, of Hinesville, Georgia
Christopher Ryan Barnes, of Tacoma, Washington
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: House of Prayer church to be held in contempt by federal court
