FILE - Christian musician Sean Feucht of California sings to the crowd during a rally at the ºÃÉ«tv Mall in Washington, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)
FILE - Christian musician Sean Feucht of California sings to the crowd during a rally at the ºÃÉ«tv Mall in Washington, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)
Former associates of conservative Christian worship leader Sean Feucht allege he mismanaged millions of dollars in ministry funds while underpaying employees and mistreating volunteers.
Feucht, once a little-known musician and aspiring politician, shot to fame during the COVID-19 pandemic when his packed concerts that flouted social distancing rules made him a champion for religious freedom. His ministry drew millions of dollars in donations and he gained political influence, putting him alongside high-profile pundits and elected officials from President Donald Trump to conservative influencer Charlie Kirk and Pete Hegseth, now the secretary of defense.
Revenue to Feucht’s ministry jumped from $243,000 in 2019 to $5 million in 2020 — the last year his organization filed a Form 990 with the IRS. Three former associates told The Associated Press that Feucht and his ministry engaged in excessive real estate purchases, lacked financial transparency and overworking staff as well as volunteers without fair wages.
Millions in property acquisitions questioned
Property records posted online by the former associates show Sean Feucht Ministries has purchased nearly $7 million in property since 2020. The properties include two parsonages in Washington, D.C., and San Juan Capistrano, California, a 40-acre hunting property with a cabin in Creston-Bigfork, Montana, and 458 acres in Real County, a scenic region known as the “Swiss Alps of Texas.â€
The records also show Feucht and his wife personally own about $4.5 million in real estate. That includes seven rental properties in Pennsylvania and a house in Redding, California, purchased between 2009 and 2023; a condo in the oceanside community of Dana Point, California, bought in April; and a Big Fork, Montana, property about 15 minutes from the ministry’s hunting ground.
In January, the couple also sold a house in an upscale Orange County, California, community for $1.7 million.
Independent Christian watchdog organizations have also raised concerns. MinistryWatch, a nonprofit that grades the nation’s 1,000 largest ministries on transparency and accountability, gave Sean Feucht Ministries an F, and has asked donors to “withhold giving.â€
Feucht’s expensive real estate was a factor in that evaluation, as was his organization’s decision not to file Form 990s after 2020 when its earnings rose significantly, said Warren Cole Smith, president of MinistryWatch. A Form 990 describes how a nonprofit allocates its money, but isn’t legally required of some religious organizations.
Feucht dismisses allegations he mishandled finances
Feucht, who has not responded to the AP’s requests for comment, dismissed the allegations as false in a social media video posted in June. He called the former associates “embittered, upset, angered former volunteers†who had no knowledge of the ministry’s financial situation and “had to be dismissed because of moral issues.â€
“We’re in great standing with the IRS, with our accountants,†he said. “Every single penny you have donated has gone to fulfill kingdom-ordained purpose and I stand by that.â€
Feucht said his ministry has spent money on visits to all 50 state capitals and about 30 other U.S. cities; purchased a tour bus and sound systems for concerts; and acquired real estate around the country.
“We’ve got real estate in D.C., which is awesome,†he said, referring to his ministry’s headquarters known as Camp Elah on Capitol Hill in Washington. “It’s such a blessing. We’re taking ground for Jesus and we’re not apologizing for that.â€
Bookkeeper saw blurring of ministry and personal expenses
One of the former associates, Richie Booth of Redding, California, became a bookkeeper for Burn 24-7 and Light a Candle after he came to Feucht in 2019 as an administrative intern during the worship leader’s unsuccessful bid for Congress. He said he saw irregularities such as the blurring of personal and ministry expenses. But, Booth said, he initially accepted Feucht’s “financial dodginess†as part of the chaotic personality he projected.
Booth said he lacked access to Feucht’s business credit card statements to categorize expenses properly. The lines between personal and ministry expenses were blurred, he said. In addition, he worried employees were not getting paid due wages, including overtime, and wondered if such practices were being normalized by Feucht.
Despite his initial connection with Feucht’s work, Booth said the organization's practices left him disheartened.
“I’ve seen so many people get taken advantage of, go through burnout and how their health suffered because of how much they poured into these ministries,†he said. “They neglected their own finances and ended up decimated from how much they gave — thinking they were doing something good and beneficial.â€
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