Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Baptist church leaders face federal fraud charges

A federal grand jury has charged a pastor, his wife and an associate minister at what may be Nevada's oldest black Baptist church with using $330,000 with bank fraud, use of federal grant money to enrich themselves and other offenses. The U.S. attorney announced Tuesday the indictment of the Rev. Willie Davis, pastor at Second Baptist Church -- which is known as the "mother church of Las Vegas," according to its Web site -- his wife, Emma, and the Rev. McTheron Jones.

The Justice Department gave a federal grant to a nonprofit organization Davis heads called the Alliance Collegiums Association of Nevada in late 2002. With the $423,000 grant the organization was supposed to open and operate halfway houses for former convicts.

The indictment says the defendants never opened a halfway house but they did spend about $330,000 of the grant, among the first for Southern Nevada from President Bush's faith-based initiative program.

The defendants are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 7.

Calls to the church and to Jones' home seeking comment were not returned Tuesday or this morning.

Cecil Davis, who is no relation to the minister and his wife, was hired along with Victoria Coleman to work at the program the grant was to support. When the two didn't get paid, they approached the Justice Department, Cecil Davis said this morning.

"That was the beginning of the end of this corrupt regime," he said.

He said this morning that was supposed to be paid about $11,000, which he never received.

When the Sun reported in September 2002 on the flap over the lack of payment Willie Davis said the two were disgruntled former employees.

But federal investigators launched an investigation and froze the group's funds in June 2003.

The indictment alleges that Jones and the Davises, who filed for personal bankruptcy in 2002, drew pay for work they did not do and paid themselves fees and raises the grant did not allow.

Additionally the indictment alleges that the three gave false documents to investigators such as time sheets for work not done and minutes for board minutes that didn't occur. It alleges Emma Davis used a Social Security number that was not hers in the organization's bank account and in applying for a $90,000 loan from the Community Bank of Nevada.

In 1999, Davis, acting as president of a group called the Ministers Alliance, wrote to Richard Moore, then-president of the Community College of Southern Nevada, recommending Moore hire Jones and six other members of the alliance. Moore hired Jones, who was later found to not have the credentials he claimed.

In 2003, Jones pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his claim that he held a doctoral degree that he didn't.

In December 2004, Jones finished paying the state back $18,000 in restitution for the gross misdemeanor charge of wrongful exercise of official power, in part with a check from the Ministers Alliance bank account, signed by Davis, according to Deputy Attorney General Jason Frierson.

The church Davis leads was founded in 1942, making it the oldest black Baptist church in the state, according to Associate Minister Chester Richardson.

The pastor's secretary, Mary Camp, said the church membership was around 800.

Richardson said the grant in question was one of the early results of President Bush's faith-based initiative, and that perhaps the defendants lacked guidance on how to administer the funds.

Davis' leadership is strong in the black community, according to Richardson.

"Rev. Davis is crucial and prominent in our community," he said.

Richardson predicted that the charges "will have trickle-down effects in the congregation and surrounding community -- anything from those who are weak-minded straying from the flock to those who will allege that this is persecution based on race."

Natalie Collins, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas, said "the race cards come up in some cases -- but we have to pursue cases based on facts."

"What about the false and fraudulent documents? We wouldn't have submitted it (the case) to a grand jury if we didn't believe there was intent," Collins said.

Dean Ishman, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, said he couldn't comment on the indictment.

"I don't know enough about it and assume he's innocent until proven guilty," Ishman said.

The Rev. Marion Bennett, who was pastor at Zion Methodist Church in West Las Vegas' predominantly black community for 44 years until recently, said such charges are "usually ... a target to get at black leaders throughout the country."

He said that he "couldn't see him (Davis) doing anything intentionally wrong ... and we should give him his day in court."

Bennett added that the federal indictment is likely to "wake up the black community to support those who want to make things better. I think it will bring us together."

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