Former Savannah Pastor Charged With Defrauding Church and Church Members

SAVANNAH, GA – Corey Megill Brown, 46, the former Senior Pastor of Second African Baptist Church in Savannah, has been indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Savannah on 97 counts of mail fraud and wire fraud.

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, between March 2005 and February 2014, Brown stole more than $250,000 from the Second African Baptist Church and from church members.   Brown allegedly opened a separate bank account in the name of the Church without the Churches knowledge or permission.  Brown would then allegedly intercept tithes and offerings from church members; deposit those monies into the account he fraudulently opened; transfer those monies to his own personal account; and then spend the stolen church donations on personal items, including items purchased from a men’s clothing store and from Victoria’s Secret. 

Brown faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release on each of the 97 fraud charges. An indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the Government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorneys Charlie Bourne and Scarlett Nokes are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.  Any questions should be directed to First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.