By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
A former Huntsville pastor has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting to embezzling more than $400,000 from his congregation and using the money for luxury purchases.
Adrian Derrell Davis, 42, was sentenced to five years in prison by U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke, according to Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona. Davis previously pleaded guilty in October to wire fraud and filing a false tax return.
According to court documents, Davis served as pastor of All Nations Worship Assembly in Huntsville between 2018 and 2020. During that time, he embezzled approximately $434,339 from the church. The church has since closed.
Prosecutors said Davis used church funds to purchase personal vehicles, including $30,920 for an Audi A7 in 2018 and $45,982 for a 2016 GMC Yukon in 2019. He also used church money to make 41 payments totaling $117,000 toward his personal American Express balance.
Luxury purchases included nearly $5,000 at Louis Vuitton, $5,300 at Flight Club in New York, $29,900 at Hublot, and $28,000 at Peter Marco. In 2020, Davis also used $18,530 in church funds to pay off a credit card balance tied to jewelry purchases. None of the transactions were authorized by the church.
Davis also failed to report the stolen funds on his tax returns for 2018, 2019 and 2020, resulting in a tax loss of $114,859 to the IRS.
“Davis betrayed his congregation when he abused his position of trust for personal gain,” Escalona said.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan S. Rummage prosecuted the case.
