A federal jury convicted a New Orleans-area pastor of more than two dozen fraud charges last week, finding that he stole some $340,000 from his congregations to spend on gambling, food, and living costs.
During the five-day trial, prosecutors described how Pastor Dale Sanders, 56, withdrew cash and wired funds from bank accounts belonging to congregations he led in Metairie and New Orleans. Sanders has been leading worship at Metairie’s Second New Guide Missionary Baptist Church and New Orleans’ Fifth African Baptist Church since 2013, according to his social media sites.
Sanders’ attorney, Michael Magner, claimed that his client’s use of a church debit card was approved by a “corporate resolution” between Sanders and executives at the Metairie church, which they signed in 2018 after Sanders promised to stop accepting a salary as the church sought to exit serious financial straits. The majority of the spending detailed in Sanders’ charges occurred after they reached that agreement.
“We presented compelling evidence that the church sustained no loss and, in fact, owes Reverend Sanders well over $200,000 in back salary,” Magner said Tuesday.
The jury, which met before U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long, eventually agreed with prosecutors’ claim that Sanders’ expenditure on casino gambling, hotel stays, and other items was theft from the church and violated federal wire fraud and access device fraud statutes.
In total, he was found guilty of 15 charges of wire fraud, 11 counts of access device fraud, and one count of hindering a federal investigation. He was acquitted of one wire fraud count.
The decision ended a relatively quick prosecution stemming from a parochial financial dispute that had splintered Sanders’ Metairie flock—a lengthy journey Sanders claimed had taken a toll on him and his family since joining the church in 2013.
Magner stated that Sanders, a distinguished priest “admired by his congregants,” accepts the conclusion but is “surprised and disappointed” by its decision. He said Sanders intends to file an appeal.
On April 28, prosecutors indicted Sanders on 11 counts stemming from his use of the Metairie church’s debit card and other transactions allegedly occurring over a five-year period beginning in 2019.
In a superseding indictment issued in June, they charged him with 17 additional offenses, detailing fresh transactions they claimed were part of his fraud from churches.
The superseding indictment details several transactions, including a $5,000 check Sanders deposited from the New Orleans-based church, a $1,172 purchase at a Hard Rock Hotel in Florida, $1,300 in charges at a Mississippi casino, and a $226 payment at a Kenner veterinarian, among others.
In a Facebook video released six days before his initial indictment, Sanders attempted to clear the air with his congregation.
“I believe this is an internal church matter that has nothing to do with the public or the state,” he stated at the outset of the 15-minute video.
He described arriving to lead Second New Guide Baptist in 2013 to see a “fractured” church plagued by financial mismanagement. A schism between certain board members and the former church financial director has splintered the flock, he said. He highlighted the church’s insurance lapse and a succession of pricey and foolish acquisitions, including a $30,000 intercom system that he said the church did not require.
In the midst of the church’s ongoing financial difficulties, Sanders stated that he agreed not to take a salary, instead striking a deal with board leaders to use the debit card.
“For more than four years, I received no salary from the Second New Guide Missionary Baptist Church. During that moment, I suffered greatly,” he remarked.
Sanders stated that he eventually fired the finance director, whom he did not name in the video. He chastised the man for taking the matter to federal court.
According to Magner, Sanders’ attorney, the chair and financial secretary of Fifth African Baptist Church—identified in charging documents only as “Church B,” while Second New Guide Missionary Baptist is referred to as “Church A”—testified at Sanders’ trial “that they were in no way defrauded by Reverend Sanders and that they considered him to be an exceptional pastor.”
Sanders was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kathryn McHugh and Tracey Knight. Each fraud count carries up to 20 years in jail. Long scheduled his sentencing for October 13.
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