Bizarre spending habits of pastor accused of stealing at least 100K from Maryland church
A Maryland pastor has been charged for allegedly stealing more than $100,000 from his church to fund his spending on DoorDash and sports betting.
Daniel Champ, the pastor for the First Baptist Church in Harford County, was indicted last month on four felony counts of theft and one misdemeanor count of embezzlement, according to Maryland Circuit Court records.
According to the indictment returned on April 1, the alleged thievery lasted from January 2019 until November 2024, when he was caught.
An anonymous member of the church spoke to WJZ-TV, a CBS affiliate in Baltimore, to express their frustration about how the situation has been handled.
'They would talk about holding meetings and not say why, and then all of a sudden the pastor was gone, he was just gone,' the member told the local outlet.
Church officials noticed suspicious bank transactions and missing money last October, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office.
The same churchgoer, who did not want to be identified, said that church leaders had still not addressed the allegations, but that Champ is no longer a pastor at the church.
Daily Mail reached out to Daniel Champ and the church for comment.
Champ (pictured preaching at the church) was officially ordained as a pastor at the church on December 9, 2017
The Harford County Sheriff's Office said Champ was removed from the church's financial accounts and has been given 60 days to move out of the residence on church property
'I was very disappointed that they didn't come out honestly and tell us what was happening, why they weren't forthcoming and honest,' the member said.
'Because money goes to that church, that's the people's money. And why weren't they honest? Why didn't they just tell people?
'I think they need to come clean and be honest with the people. I think the people need to know.'
The Harford County Sheriff's Office said Champ was removed from the church's financial accounts and has been given 60 days to move out of the residence on church property.
According to the church's social media pages, Champ was officially ordained as a pastor at the church on December 9, 2017.
An arrest warrant for Champ was issued on April 2, a day after the indictment was returned.
He made his initial appearance in court on April 11 and posted bond for $15,000, lower than the $25,000 the judge presiding over the case initially requested.
He is set to appear in court again on May 19 at 1:30pm.
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