BishopAccountability.org
	Feds Say Minister Diverted Flood Aid By Bruce Nolan The Baptist Standard April 11, 2008 http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=7641 NEW ORLEANS (RNS)—Federal prosecutors have charged the former pastor of a church damaged by Hurricane Katrina with diverting thousands of dollars in private donations and public flood relief money to his private bank account. The U.S. attorney's office said it filed a bill of information charging Noah A. Thomas Jr., former pastor of Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, with a single count of mail fraud. He led the church until October 2006, authorities said. Thomas was unavailable for comment. Prosecutors said the church applied for a donation from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, a private philanthropy headed by the two ex-presidents. The church also applied for a Small Business Administration rebuilding loan, they said. The Bush-Clinton Fund donated $35,000 to the church, and the SBA approved a rebuilding loan of $252,000, prosecutors said. Thomas opened a new bank account over which he had sole control and deposited into it the $35,000 from the Bush-Clinton fund, as well as the first installment of $10,000 from the SBA, prosecutors said. His purpose was "to conceal the award of those funds and to illegally use the money for his own personal benefit," according to the bill of information filed with the court. The church appears to be functioning today. A sign outside the property identifies the new pastor as Brian K. Richburg, who was unavailable for comment. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten would not say whether prosecutors have evidence Thomas spent any of the money on himself. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail and a fine of $250,000.
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