A former pastor in Huntsville, Alabama, has been sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling over $400,000 from a local church. U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona announced that Adrian Derrell Davis, 42, received the sentence from United States District Judge Liles C. Burke after pleading guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return.
Davis served as the pastor at All Nations Worship Assembly between 2018 and 2020. According to court documents, he used his position to divert approximately $434,339 of church funds for personal expenses. In one instance in 2018, Davis spent $30,920 of church money on an Audi A7 vehicle. The following year, he used $45,982 for a 2016 GMC Yukon. He also made 41 payments totaling $117,000 from church accounts toward his personal American Express card balance.
Luxury items purchased with these funds included nearly $5,000 at Louis Vuitton and $5,300 at Flight Club in New York. In 2020, Davis paid off an $18,530 credit card balance with church money after buying jewelry. Additional payments to his American Express card exceeded $151,000 during this period. Purchases included a $29,900 transaction at Hublot and a $28,000 purchase at Peter Marco; none were approved by the church.
Davis did not report the embezzled funds on his individual tax returns for three consecutive years—2018 through 2020—resulting in an estimated tax loss of almost $115,000 to the Internal Revenue Service. Records show that Davis failed to inform his tax preparer about the extra income and claimed it came only from speaking engagements.
“Davis betrayed his congregation when he abused his position of trust for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona. “My office is committed to holding accountable individuals who violate positions of public trust.”
“Adrian Davis stole funds from his parishioners and filed false tax returns to conceal his crime,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kristen A. Yukness of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents are dedicated to ensuring that individuals who hold positions of trust within the community and use those positions to participate in fraudulent financial activities are held accountable.”
The case was investigated by IRS-CI and the United States Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan S. Rummage.
