A former minister at Houston’s First Baptist Church received his sentence as part of a plea deal in which he admitted to stealing more than $800,000 from the church. A judge sentenced Jerrell Altic to 10 years in prison.
Church leaders noticed financial discrepancies in 2017 and confronted Altic. Altic resigned and eventually admitted to defrauding the church through a series of hard to detect transactions over the course of six years. Authorities say he used the funds to live above his means, obtain a doctorate from Lancaster Bible College, and take his family on international vacations.
The church issued a statement after Altic’s indictment, explaining to the church’s members what had taken place and outlining how the church would move forward in the future. They described to the church the circumstances and outcome of their initial investigation, saying, “In November 2017, we discovered a limited set of suspicious financial activity related to Jerrell Altic. When we approached him about the matter, he immediately tendered his resignation. We reported our initial findings to law enforcement and our insurance provider, in keeping with our legal and fiduciary responsibilities, and began a thorough investigation conducted by staff leadership, relevant church committees and deacons as well as independent forensic accounting and legal experts.”
The church also told…
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