California Pastor Stole $200K from Dying Church Founder Used It for Flights, Dental Work, and a New Life in Tennessee

While the congregation prayed for their ailing pastor during the darkest days of the pandemic, his trusted assistant was quietly robbing them blind.

This week, Curtis Frank Lemons, a former assistant pastor at the New Progressive Christian Baptist Church in Oxnard, California, was sentenced to two years in state prison after admitting to stealing $200,000 from the church at a time when its beloved founder was near death and the world was shut down from COVID-19.

Prosecutors say Lemons, now 68, wrote himself a cashier’s check from the church’s account in December 2020, just as the pandemic was surging and the church struggled to operate safely. The theft continued from January to April 2021, right as Reverend Jesse James Taylor, the church’s 87 year old founder, was battling the final stages of his life. He died in August that same year.

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“This is a sad case,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Wise. “Mr. Lemons stole from a vulnerable victim at a vulnerable time the patriarch of the church was near death.”

Instead of using the funds for ministry or medical needs, Lemons spent the money on himself: Flights, A new phone, Dental work, A car, And even a new home in Tennessee, where he later moved.

Lemons pleaded guilty in April to two felony counts of grand theft and one count of money laundering. In addition to prison time, he has been ordered to repay the full $200,000 to the church.

The betrayal hit hard for church members, many of whom had trusted Lemons during a time of spiritual and physical vulnerability.

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One member reportedly said, We were grieving and praying and he was stealing. We were trying to survive COVID and save our pastor. He was planning a new life.

Now, the man who once stood at the altar is behind bars and a once devoted congregation is left to pick up the pieces of both a lost leader and a deep betrayal.

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