A former Alabama pastor has pleaded guilty to stealing over $400,000 of funds from his church for personal use through “means of materially false pretenses, representations and promises.” Adrian Davis, former lead pastor of All Nations Worship Assembly in Huntsville, Alabama is charged with wire fraud and filing a false tax return, which could result in over 20 years in prison. Some of the purchases Davis made from 2018 to 2020 included a $45,000 GMC Yukon as well as mortgage payments on a house for his mother. Davis racked up $268,000 in credit card bills on things like jewelry and watches. Additionally, Davis underreported his income on his 2020 tax return, stating he’d made $138,621.

The church had agreed to pay Davis a salary for his role as a pastor and marketing consultant while also providing a parsonage. Davis, however, was not authorized to use the additional funds for personal use. Davis, it seems, promoted a “prosperity Gospel” theology. In a past interview, Davis discussed the outlook of his marketing agency, the Commas Agency. “The more you lean into every comma that God has created you to be, the more commas you will visibly see in your bank account,” he said. He shared that in 2020 he had decided to move to LA to, “pursue my dreams of being entranced and involved in the entertainment industry.” He also stated that he was grateful for a “sound mind.” “Over the past three years I’ve experienced a lot of challenges. These past three to four years have been extreme hell for me,” he said in 2021. “It just seems like it’s always an attack, a death in the family, or constant grief I had to deal with. Once again, I am most grateful for a sound mind that I have not lost yet.”

As part of Davis’ plea deal, he will have to pay $434,340 in restitution to All Nations Worship Assembly and $114,859 to the IRS. Davis will be formally arraigned on October 23. In addition to prison time, if convicted, Davis could end up paying as much as $500,000 in fines for both charges. Currently, the prosecution is recommending a lightened sentence due to “apparent prompt recognition and affirmative acceptance of personal responsibility for [his] criminal conduct.”