Dr. H. Kelly McKnight Jr., pastor of Bible Deliverance Temple, pleads guilty to wire fraud after falsifying mortgage application to purchase property for ministry.
DISGRACE: Harrisburg SC pastor Dr. H. Kelly McKnight Jr., who is the senior pastor at Bible Deliverance Temple, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud Thursday. He "tearfully" waived his right to be indicted by a grand jury and told the judge he wanted to plead guilty. Er, he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar! Here's an account of his "scheme" from the
Augusta Chronicle:
As his wife, Chastity, sat crying in the courtroom, McKnight, 59, said he planned to use the money to fund Another Chance Ministries, which he serves as CEO. He lamented the damage he had done to his father's, his wife's and the church's reputations. "I apologize to this court and this city," he said. "I've already apologized to my church."
According to court documents and property records, McKnight's father, H.K. McKnight, bought a house at 1303 Hickman Road in January 2007 for $225,000 with a loan from Wachovia. Earlier that month, the same property had been purchased by the pastor through Another Chance Ministries for $150,000.
McKnight admitted to writing fraudulent information on the loan application on his father's behalf. He inflated his father's retirement salary by about $15,000 a year, told the bank his father would live in the house when in fact the pastor was renting out the property, and falsely listed his father as being senior pastor of the church.
The bank foreclosed on the house in July 2009, losing $163,000 on the deal. The property was sold on the courthouse steps for $35,500, despite an estimated value of $260,113, property records show.
I would love to hear from some of the members of his church how they feel about what he has done. Of course, some members would follow him to the end of the Earth with blind admiration and an unshakable loyalty. Crazy.
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