A federal jury in the United States has found Louisiana pastor Dale Sanders guilty of stealing more than $340,000 from two churches and using the money to fund gambling, personal spending and other unauthorized expenses.
The 56-year-old pastor was convicted on 25 criminal counts, including wire fraud, access device fraud and obstruction of a federal investigation, following a five-day trial before US District Judge Brandon S. Long.
The verdict was announced by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana in a statement released by the US Department of Justice.
According to prosecutors, Sanders abused his position of trust by orchestrating a scheme that enabled him to divert church funds into bank accounts under his control before spending the money on gambling, restaurant bills and personal living expenses.
Federal investigators also established that Sanders unlawfully used a church-issued debit card to obtain cash, goods and services for his own benefit without authorization, resulting in losses exceeding $340,000.
Prosecutors told the court that Sanders concealed the fraudulent activities through false representations while exploiting the financial resources of the churches for personal enrichment.
The jury further found him guilty of obstructing justice after he submitted a falsified document in response to a grand jury subpoena during the federal investigation, an act prosecutors said was intended to mislead investigators.
Sanders is scheduled to be sentenced on October 13, 2026, and faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years on the most serious charges.
He could also be ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the amount of the financial gain or loss arising from the offences, in addition to serving up to three years of supervised release after completing any prison term.
The court may also require him to pay restitution to the affected churches, alongside a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 for each of the 25 counts on which he was convicted.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) New Orleans Field Office, while Assistant United States Attorneys Kathryn McHugh and Tracey Knight of the Financial Crimes Unit handled the prosecution.
