最新杏吧原创

Kenneth Carl Sparks III told the members of Faith Walk Ministries he was there to bring more congregants from the 鈥渘orth, south, east and west,鈥� said Giselle Ballenger, a former church member who left the congregation after 25 years.

鈥淗e was coming through like he's John the Baptist,鈥� she said.

Sparks, a registered sex offender who had just skipped out on his parole officer in Texas, was supposed to be there for a three-day revival to preach and reenergize the nondenominational congregation, which was home to fewer than 100 members in Paris, Missouri, about an hour north of Columbia.

Instead, he effectively ran the church for three years, at one point even preaching by phone while in custody at a county jail. He squeezed parishioners for cash 鈥� and used some of them to pull off a more than $1.2 million loan fraud scheme.聽

Two years ago, the pastor was arrested in Florida and federally indicted along with 10 others, including several church members, who have all since entered guilty plea agreements.

During his federal trial this week in 最新杏吧原创, prosecutors told jurors that Sparks, 56, was the mastermind behind the scheme that mostly targeted federal pandemic business loans. They said he pocketed almost all of the money it netted, spending it on designer clothes, jewelry, two Mercedes and a diamond-studded $60,000 Rolex.

He also took out personal and auto loans in the names of some of the parishioners, who say they are now on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars.

鈥淒efendant Kenneth Sparks impersonated God himself in order to steal public funds,鈥� Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman told jurors.

Sparks鈥� defense attorney, Joseph Hogan, said Sparks was being blamed because he was the outsider within the small-town community. His client did not himself fill out the parishioners鈥� loan applications.

And Sparks 鈥渆arned his money honestly,鈥� Hogan said, by running revivals at churches that asked him to visit. He made a deal with Faith Walk Ministries鈥� lead pastor, Harold Long. Sparks would get 60% of funds raised during his revival, Hogan said, and the church would pocket the other 40%.

鈥淲hether you like this business or not, that鈥檚 what they agreed to,鈥� Hogan told jurors.

The jury deliberated for about an hour on 20 charges that included wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.

Seven nights a week

Just before Sparks鈥� stint at Faith Walk Ministries, he served a portion of a five-year prison sentence for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Texas.

鈥�(Sparks) forced a 14-year-old member of his parish to have sex with him by exploiting her faith in God and respect for authority,鈥� federal prosecutors wrote in court filings.

He was charged with those sex crimes in March 2013 and was convicted five years later, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol鈥檚 sex offender registry.

Shortly after being put on parole for those crimes, prosecutors say Sparks 鈥渇led from his Texas parole officer鈥� and set his sights on Faith Walk Ministries, though it鈥檚 not clear why he chose that particular church.

Ballenger, the former church member, said that when Sparks arrived, her fellow churchgoers ran to his aid and soon began hanging on his every word. Eventually, Sparks was preaching seven nights a week. Sometimes, she said, those services would last until 1 a.m.

His Instagram is peppered with clips of a suit-clad Sparks preaching at rapid pace as his body convulses to the rhythm of the words. Often blaming the devil for congregants' struggles, he pushes them to beat the demons trying to take them down.聽

Faith Walk parishioners say he also encouraged religious fasting.

鈥淓veryone was fasting and he was gaining weight,鈥� Darla McClain, who had also been a longtime church member, told the Post-Dispatch.

Ballenger said that during his sermons, congregants would be called upon to donate specific amounts of money, sometimes for things like Sparks鈥� hotel room and other times for no specified reason. She said people were expected to hand over the money immediately or they would be called out in front of everyone.

On one occasion, Sparks called out McClain's cousin who had fallen on hard times.

When Sparks asked if she had the $200 he was asking parishioners to hand over that night 鈥� and she said no 鈥� he called her up to the church鈥檚 stage.

鈥楬e would prophesize you would die鈥�

鈥淗e grabbed her hands,鈥� McClain said. Sparks asked her if she believed in God, and she said yes. He asked her if she trusted him and she said no.

Then he had the church members come up and hand her money.

鈥淪he's crying because she's so happy,鈥� McClain said.

鈥淎nd then he takes the money and he sends her back to her seat,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e did not not give her that damn money.鈥�

McClain and Ballenger, lifetime church members and good friends, said the majority of the church鈥檚 membership made modest incomes.

Sparks captivated the churchgoers from the pulpit by telling them he was going to help them beat "the demon of poverty" by increasing parishioners鈥� credit scores and putting them into a wealth mindset, according to trial testimony this week.

McClain and Ballenger said Sparks was able to draw them in with the word of God and manipulate their faith until they gave him every dollar they could spare with promises of future blessings.

He also said he would help them fund the building of a brand new megachurch for their ministry, a rendering of which is still featured on old posts on the church鈥檚 Facebook page.

He was the voice of God, church members testified this week.

鈥淚f you went against what he said, you were a Jezebel, especially if you were a woman,鈥� said John Fonville, a churchgoer and fraud victim. 鈥淗e would prophesize you would die.鈥�

In October 2019, Sparks was arrested in Boone County for failing to register as a sex offender.

But that didn't stop him from preaching.聽

鈥淭hey were still having church services,鈥� Ballenger said. 鈥淗e was calling in and preaching through the phone while he was in jail and we didn't know where he was.鈥�

Loan applications

Sparks was back with his parishioners by Thanksgiving, McClain said.

Both women said they left the church because they knew Sparks was bad news. They described being excommunicated by the members, which included their families, at the direction of Sparks.

After they left, Sparks began to orchestrate the fraud scheme.

The pastor received $150,000 in pandemic aid loans himself after lying about his business' annual revenue and his own parole status on a loan application, prosecutors said.

Then, he convinced parishioners to hand over their information, including social security numbers, account numbers and other information needed to apply for Paycheck Protection loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Administration. He told the churchgoers the loans were actually grants.

Mya McClain, Darla's sister-in-law and a former church member who was also indicted in the fraud scheme, testified Tuesday that Sparks told her and another church member to fill out the loan applications with parishioners' information.

She said she believed what they were doing was a legal way to raise funds to build the new megachurch. She said most people didn鈥檛 have money to give, so Sparks told them they could use their good credit to help.

There was a point where she raised concerns, but she was 鈥渧ery, very forcefully scolded.鈥澛�

鈥淗e convinced me 鈥� I know it鈥檚 hard to believe, an educated woman 鈥� to go against my better judgment,鈥� Mya McClain testified.

Sparks had parishioners open accounts at Navy Federal Credit Union in Illinois. When the pandemic loans were funded, investigators said, parishioners would give Sparks blank signed checks to move the funds to other accounts, often his business accounts, and then on to Sparks鈥� personal accounts.

In all, $1,236,122 in federal loans were disbursed. Sparks took $1,013,446 of that for himself.

But, prosecutors said, that wasn鈥檛 enough. So Sparks, with the help of a man in New Jersey, took out another $600,000 in personal and auto loans in parishioners' names, as well as credit cards.

Prosecutors presented pages of texts and emails sent between Sparks and those men, often talking about the parishioners.

鈥淪ome of these people are retarded and dyslexic and they don鈥檛 know how to handle things,鈥� Sparks wrote in a text to the New Jersey man, Terrance Kwade.

Mya McClain told jurors she was still finding out about loans he took out in her name. She says she owes at least $80,000 and her credit score went from 800 to 400.

In all, there are about 50 fraudulent loans, authorities said.聽

On Monday, federal prosecutors dismissed 13 of Sparks鈥� 33 charges before the trial began. That left six counts of wire fraud, one count of wire fraud conspiracy, three counts of aggravated identity theft and 10 counts of money laundering.

The jury found him guilty on all counts. He鈥檚 set to be sentenced Dec. 1.

The 10 other co-defendants include church members and the two out-of-state men who prosecutors say helped create false documents and navigate the application processes, particularly when the lending institutions raised concerns or asked questions.

All have pleaded guilty. Some still await sentencing.