Separation of Church and Finances: Pastor Swipes $462,000 Through False Investments

Time to replant the money tree

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While the pastor of a church in Idaho, Yancy managed to coax 64 individuals into opening forex accounts and invest considerable amounts of money. In total, Yancy, on behalf of his company, Longbranch LLC, solicited over $1 million in funds intended for trading. According to the complaint filed by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Yancy told prospective customers that he "managed forex trading for non-profit organizations, including churches and orphanages."

The complaint, which was filed on Aug. 18, claims that Yancy "misappropriated at least $462,000 of customer funds," according to court documents.

The corrupt pastor promised his customers 20 to 40 percent monthly returns on their initial investment. Yancy's company even went so far as to send account statements to prospective customers, which showed high returns. What wasn't clearly communicated was that the account statements were for "demonstration and/or test accounts" and not from actual customer accounts.

Longbranch LLC is registered as a Texas limited liability company formed in January 2009, with its principal place of business in East Houston, off the Sam Houston Parkway.

A quick Google search of Jeremiah Yancy delivered reports on ComplaintsBoard.com, from two parties, warning of dealings with Yancy and issues of fraud, embezzlement and theft.

According to the Courthouse News Service report, the USCFTC "seeks disgorgement, restitution, treble damages, and fines of $130,000 for each violation securities law from Oct. 23, 2004 to Oct. 22, 2008 and $140,000 for each violation afterward."