Spac Nation Scandal: Church Fighting Knife Crime Fails to Act on Rogue Pastors Flourishing in Its Ranks

By Nadine White
Huff Post UK
November 8, 2019

https://consent.yahoo.com/collectConsent?sessionId=1_cc-session_822f862e-a605-444b-a249-72eda53c1bc3&lang=en-gb&inline=false

A pioneering church that has been hailed by politicians as a beacon of hope for ex-gang members has created the conditions for fraudsters to flourish within its ranks and is failing to act on pastors financially exploiting the young people it claims to help, we can reveal.

Ex-congregation members have spoken out to reveal shocking cases at the church, SPAC Nation, of pastors targeting young black people from impoverished areas and “broken homes” and isolating them from their families – before exploiting them for money.

A HuffPost UK investigation has found evidence that some pastors at the church - whose leader was pictured in the second row for Boris Johnson’s speech at this year’s Conservative Party conference - have pressured the young people they supposedly help into taking out substantial loans of up to ?5,000.

Once these loans arrive in their bank accounts, the congregation member is asked to transfer the money to the SPAC Nation pastor, sometimes on the basis that the clergymen will set them up as “crypto-traders”.

While young people are left in debt, SPAC Nation’s pastors put on an extravagant show of wealth – flashing rolls of ?50 notes, buying Rolex watches, driving Lamborghinis and other sports cars, buying Louboutin shoes and hosting cash giveaways to tempt more youngsters in.