An Alexandria pastor and his wife have been found guilty of defrauding church members and friends out of millions of dollars.
Terry Millender, pastor and owner of Christian-based company Micro-Enterprise Management Group, along with his wife Brenda, have been found guilty of scamming churchgoers out of millions of dollars. They squandered the investment and donation money that was supposed to be used in helping the poor in developing countries. Millender and his wife were the heads of Victorious Life Church and were given large sums of money by friends and church members, which ranged from tens of thousands of dollars to as much as four million. The couple's scam came to light as the couple lost the large sums when they engaged in risky currency trading and used portions of the millions to make mortgage payments on their Springfield mansion.
The Millenders initially lost $1.4 million when their company failed and while using the money in microlending. The couple then assured their investors that the money would be repaid as they started another company called Kingdom Commodities Unlimited. However, the couple squandered another $600,000 as they allegedly tried to gain revenue via the Nigerian Oil Industry while spending most of the money on their expenses and themselves. As the couple continued using the money towards payments on their home and personal expenses, the Millenders blamed their inability to fulfill their promises to their investors on the 2008 financial crisis.
Terry Millender, however, maintains that he was not scamming anyone and that he simply mismanaged the money, claiming that he used the money as he said he would by helping people in developing countries by providing small and short-term loans to help open and expand businesses through multiple micro-finance institutions. Millender gained the trust of investors via the couple’s church mission of which the goal was to help the less fortunate while also promising that investing in the missions would yield gainful returns and would be safeguarded by the assets of his company. A jury found that the Millenders misrepresented the company and were using the money in trading on the foreign currency exchange market and on personal expenses and luxuries such as golf trips and birthday parties.
Now the couple and MEMG operating officer Grenetta Wells are facing up to 20 years in prison when their sentences will be handed down on March 30.
