Correction appended
A Maryland pastor has been charged with stealing approximately $135,000 from his church, with him allegedly using the funds on sports betting and food deliveries.
Daniel Champ, 42, is charged with theft of over $135,000 and embezzlement from First Baptist Church of Harford County, CBS News affiliate WJZ-TV reported last week.
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According to authorities, Champ is slated for a court appearance later this month and has been removed from the church’s account. He has also been ordered to leave his residence on the church’s property.
One congregant spoke to WJZ under the condition of anonymity, expressing disappointment with a reported lack of transparency on the part of church leadership.
“I was very disappointed that they didn’t come out honestly and tell us what was happening, why they weren’t forthcoming and honest,” said the church member.
“Because money goes to that church, that’s the people’s money. And why weren’t they honest? Why didn’t they just tell people? … I think they need to come clean and be honest with the people. I think the people need to know.”
Champ was charged early last month, according to court documents, with the Maryland resident posting a $15,000 unsecured personal bond on April 11.
The pastor is accused of having stolen the money from around January 2019 until last October, when church officials noticed that there were dubious bank charges and missing funds.
According to investigators, Champ used the stolen money for various personal expenses, including sports betting, food deliveries via DoorDash and PayPal.
Based on the church’s Facebook page, the last Sunday sermon Champ gave at First Baptist was on Sept. 8, noted The Roys Report, with the church’s website presently being down.
During his message, Champ preached about 1 Thessalonians 2, which warns against preaching the Gospel with “a cloak of covetousness” or giving an exhortation that is “of deceit.”
When discussing the biblical passage last September, Champ talked about preachers who are proclaiming the Gospel “for monetary gain, for some kind of gain for ourselves.”
“They’ll come, and they’ll preach to you and even though some of what they say is truth, they’re doing it out of the wrong heart,” he said.
“They’re not doing it sincerely because they care about your soul. They’re doing it because the more people they get on their side, the more money they make.”
Correction: An initial version of this article referred to the location of the church as being “Hartford County,” when it was actually Harford County.
