A former Ventura County pastor is headed to state prison for stealing $200,000 from a church.
Prosecutors say Curtis Frank Lemons took the money from New Progressive Christian Baptist Church in Oxnard in 2020. He was an assistant pastor at the time.
They say he issued himself a cashier’s check from a church account, and used the $200,000 for everything from airline tickets to the purchase of property.
The 69-year-old man was living in Tennessee at the time he was charged. Oxnard Police detectives say Lemons initially claimed he had given the money to charity. But, he later pled guilty to grand theft and money laundering charges.
He was sentenced to two years in state prison, and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution.
