Former Anne Arundel County pastor sentenced for not paying taxes on $347k he stole from church
A former pastor in Anne Arundel County was sentenced for not paying taxes on the nearly $350,000 that he stole from his church, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced.
Jerome Isaac Hurley, from Pasadena, will serve five years of supervised probation. Hurley was found guilty of the crime on December 4, 2024.
Hurley was the pastor at the Miracle Temple Church in Lothian, Maryland, from 2017 until October 2022, according to the attorney general's office.
According to court documents, Hurley filed an insurance claim on behalf of the church after a fire at the church parsonage in 2020. The church was paid $350,000 by the insurance company. Hurley stole $347,000 from the church and deposited the money into his personal account, and used the money for personal expenses, according to court records.
The court said Hurley didn't include the $347,000 in income in his 2021 income tax return, and his failure to pay $33,595.05 in taxes to the State of Maryland.
On March 11, Hurley pleaded guilty to theft in a separate case related to the theft from the church.
Harford County pastor charged with theft from his church
In April, a Harford County pastor was accused of stealing more than $100,000 from his church.
Pastor Daniel Champ is charged with theft of over $100,000 and embezzlement from the First Baptist Church.
According to the Harford County Sheriff's Office, church officials noticed suspicious bank charges and missing money in October 2024.
According to the indictment, the theft began in January 2019 and continued until he was caught in 2024.
Investigators said Pastor Champ took more than $135,000 for personal use, such as DoorDash, PayPal, and sports betting.
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