SouthLake Church Founding Pastor Admits to Role in Embezzling Up to $1M From Church and School
Wade Malloy, the founding pastor of SouthLake Presbyterian Church in Huntersville, North Carolina, could wind up in prison for five years along with other penalties after pleading guilty Wednesday to embezzling up to $1 million from the church and its SouthLake Christian Academy K-12 private school.
Sixty-two-year-old Malloy pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, admitting to conspiring with Wayne Parker, the school's longtime headmaster and chief financial officer, to embezzle at least $550,000 to pay for his personal expenses, according to The Charlotte Observer.
These expenses included college tuition, room and board for one of the pastor's children, medical bills, taxes, cars and credit card bills.
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A release from the Department of Justice said from about 2000 to August 2014, Malloy conspired with Parker to defraud the church and school of between $500,000 and $1,000,000, by using bank funds from both operations to pay for Malloy's personal expenses.
Court records cited by the DOJ said Malloy had Parker issue additional paychecks to him above and beyond what he was entitled to by the terms of his employment. As the scheme progressed overtime, in addition to the extra salary checks, Malloy had Parker use funds from the church and school to pay his personal expenses.
Malloy, who entered his guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer, was released on bond after the hearing Wednesday.
The penalty for the wire fraud charge carries a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, Malloy also agreed to pay restitution, the amount of which will be determined by the court at sentencing.
Parker was sentenced on Nov. 30 to 60 months in prison for his role in the embezzlement scheme. He was also ordered to serve three years under court supervision upon completion of his prison term and to pay $6,606,463 as restitution.
Over the course of his embezzlement, according to the Observer, Parker stole an average of $650,000 a year.
He reportedly spent the money building at least two homes, including a 7,000-square-foot waterfront mansion on Lake Norman and the rest on international travel, luxury cars, boats, along with Carolina Panthers permanent seat licenses and tickets.
When parents donated money to the school in memory of their dead child, the Observer noted, Parker stole it. And when his accounts ran short during construction of the lake house, Parker cut the pay of school employees by 5 percent and blamed it on the economy.
Reacting to his plea, Malloy's church noted in a statement posted to its website: "SouthLake Church takes no delight in the consequences and results of sin. Our prayer is that God would show mercy and grace to all those who have been impacted by the sins against God's church."
Malloy, who lives in Stanley, founded the church in 1991 and remained its pastor until 2014. He and church members founded the school in 1994, according to the Observer.
When Malloy hired Parker at the school in 1996, the pastor was also aware that Parker had a federal conviction for corruptly obstructing and impeding the administration of the tax laws, according to court documents.
