HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — A former pastor of a Dothan church accused of misusing nearly $50,000 in funds says that the money was repaid to the congregation and his attorney added in court on Friday that there was no evidence presented that shows that the purchases weren’t helping the church.
Darryl Roberts, the former pastor of Greater Beulah Baptist Church in Dothan was in the courtroom for a preliminary hearing accused of misusing $48,000 over a little more than a year ago.
Investigators say Roberts used a church credit card and checks on 79 transactions to buy hotel rooms, food, gas, and items from Amazon.
Both forms of payments, church officials say could only be used for school or church purchases. They also say Roberts was not supposed to be using those forms of payment at all and that only three people were authorized to write checks or use the credit card, Roberts was not authorized to do so.
Robert’s attorney, Shaun McGee, argued back saying he doesn’t see where Roberts is not authorized because the church laws he was looking at say he was allowed to make those payments. The leaders say they knew nothing about the laws McGee looked at and they went by a whole different set of laws than Roberts.
Roberts left Greater Beulah near the end of 2023 after an internal fight with the church members and leadership ended with a lawsuit against him, accusing him of filing official documents to the Houston County Probate Office and the Alabama Secretary of State with a page containing the forged signatures of the church leadership and deacons.
Prosecutors say this isn’t a case of who was authorized to make payments, it’s a case of whether or not Roberts used the church’s money for personal gain.
Robert’s attorney says no evidence was displayed on Friday that shows that the payments weren’t business-related purchases.
In September 2023, Roberts allegedly told the congregation at a meeting that the money had been repaid, but church leaders say nearly 12 months later that they still haven’t seen the money and are still $48,000 in the hole.
Roberts’s case will now get looked at by a Houston County Grand Jury, which will decide whether or not to formally charge him.
