January 22, 2010
Office of The Attorney General
– Paula T. Dow, Acting Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
Former Pastor of Newark Church Sentenced to Prison for Theft of $157,000 from Parishioners and Others He Solicited for Loans
TRENTON – Acting Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced that the former pastor of a Newark church was sentenced to prison today for stealing $157,000 that he fraudulently solicited as loans from parishioners and religious associates.
Steven Parrott, 53, of Newark, former pastor of the Lighthouse Temple Church, was sentenced to three years in state prison by Superior Court Judge Patricia Richmond LeBon in Burlington County. Parrott pleaded guilty on Nov. 13 to second-degree misconduct by a corporate official. The charge was contained in a June 12, 2008 state grand jury indictment.
Parrott admitted that he stole $157,580 from five victims named in the indictment. Parrott was ordered to pay full restitution to the victims. Deputy Attorney General Valerie Noto prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes Bureau and represented the state at today’s sentencing.
An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice revealed that Parrott asked to borrow money from the victims, claiming he would pay the victims back quickly with large sums of interest. Parrott falsely told one victim he needed money to bury a family member. He told the other victims that “the Lord” wanted him to ask for the money to repair his church and make a down payment on a $6 million dollar project to create an after-school program in memory of his father. One parishioner who had known Parrott all of her life gave him $75,000.
Parrott falsely claimed he was about to receive a major grant for the memorial project and would pay the loans back with that money, which was supposed to come from the government or a wealthy donor. Parrott lied about the project and never intended to repay the money. Rather than spending the money on the church, he used it to pay his personal expenses.
Detective Richard Watson, Detective Kimberly Allen, Principal Research Analyst Rita Gillis and Deputy Attorney General Noto conducted the investigation for the Division of Criminal Justice.
The Lighthouse Temple Church is a small parish on Market Street in Newark that is part of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith Inc., a New York-based Pentecostal denomination with member churches located primarily in the eastern United States.
In addition to serving as pastor, Parrott previously served as a bishop for the national church, leading a diocese that included churches in Mercer, Essex and Hudson counties. He was removed from all church posts after the alleged thefts came to light in 2007.
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