{"id":33155,"date":"2026-10-16T10:31:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T14:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=33155"},"modified":"2026-10-16T10:31:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T14:31:18","slug":"pastor-accused-of-scamming-church-members-out-of-13-million-calling-those-who-questioned-him-demon-possessed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/10\/pastor-accused-of-scamming-church-members-out-of-13-million-calling-those-who-questioned-him-demon-possessed","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Accused of Scamming Church Members Out of $13 Million, Calling Those Who Questioned Him \u2018Demon-Possessed\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
passionforchrist.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Washington pastor is facing federal fraud and money laundering charges after allegedly convincing church members to invest millions in a failing business, then accusing them of being demon-possessed when they demanded answers.<\/p>\n

Cristian Popescu, 46, pastor of Passion for Christ Church<\/a> in Kirkland, Washington, is accused of collecting more than $13 million from over 30 investors, many of whom were members of his congregation.<\/p>\n

According to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Western District of Washington, Popescu was arraigned<\/a> on 10 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial on December 21.<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors allege that he used his position as a spiritual leader to gain investors\u2019 trust, even telling church members that God had personally chosen them to participate in his business venture.<\/p>\n

The company, Followone Inc., was promoted as an innovative online platform combining social media, real estate, healthcare, automotive services and e-commerce.<\/p>\n

But investigators say the business was largely an illusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe used his trusted position to manipulate Passion for Christ congregants and others into giving him money, which he said would be invested in Followone,\u201d the federal indictment states.<\/p>\n

\u201cPopescu told investors that God had chosen them to invest in the company and that doing so would further the church\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege that Popescu encouraged investors to withdraw retirement savings, take out home equity loans and even use money set aside for their children\u2019s college education.<\/p>\n

He reportedly promised that their investments were secure and could be withdrawn whenever they wanted.<\/p>\n

Instead, authorities say millions of dollars went toward personal expenses.<\/p>\n

According to the indictment<\/a>, he transferred more than $4.5 million into accounts belonging to himself and family members. He allegedly paid himself more than $1 million in wages, gave his wife over $300,000 despite her not being a legitimate employee, and used approximately $1 million to pay personal credit card bills.<\/p>\n

Investigators also allege that he transferred nearly $900,000 into a personal stock trading account.<\/p>\n

To maintain the appearance of success, he allegedly rented expensive office space, hired employees and created misleading financial documents claiming Followone was worth $1.4 billion.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say the company actually had little or no value.<\/p>\n

When investors began questioning the business and asking for their money back, he allegedly responded with anger rather than answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen investors pressed Popescu for more information about Followone or expressed doubts about Popescu\u2019s representations, Popescu invoked his position in the church, became irate, and told the investors they were demonically possessed,\u201d the indictment states.<\/p>\n

Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd accused the pastor of exploiting both the financial resources and religious trust of his congregation.<\/p>\n

\u201cPopescu lured investors from his church with fake marketing materials, websites, and expensive offices, and then took their money for his own luxuries and day trading, betraying them financially and faithfully,\u201d Floyd said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The allegations show the damage that can occur when spiritual authority is allegedly used to pressure believers into financial decisions.<\/p>\n

He has been released on bail with electronic monitoring while awaiting trial. If convicted, he could face substantial prison time and financial penalties.<\/p>\n

The charges remain allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Washington pastor is facing federal fraud and money laundering charges after allegedly convincing church members to invest millions in a failing business, then accusing them of being demon-possessed when they demanded answers. Cristian Popescu, 46, pastor of Passion for Christ Church in Kirkland, Washington, is accused of collecting more than $13 million from over…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":33158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPastor Accused of Scamming Church Members Out of $13 Million, Calling Those Who Questioned Him \u2018Demon-Possessed\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Federal prosecutors say a Washington pastor used claims of God's calling to lure church members into a multimillion-dollar investment scheme.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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