Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Wise, who led the prosecution, said in a statement, “This is a sad case. Mr. Lemons stole from a vulnerable victim at a vulnerable time.”
“The patriarch of the church was near death when this happened at the onset of COVID,” Wise added. “Mr. Lemons made a terrible decision but has accepted responsibility for his significant theft.”
RELATED: Former Church Employee Who Embezzled $450K Gets 5 1/2 Years in Federal Prison
ChurchLeaders has reached out to New Progressive Christian Baptist Church, and the church has declined to comment.
