A Dallas pastor who led a small congregation with no physical place of worship has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison for stealing real estate from three churches.
The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said a jury found Whitney Foster, 56, guilty of property theft at $300,000 or more after illegally taking the properties of First Christian Church in Lancaster, Canada Drive Church in Dallas, and Nineveh in Dallas.
Prosecutors said Foster, who has prior convictions of identity theft and arson, submitted fake deeds for the three churches, listing a non-existent leader for the victim churches as the grantors and naming his own church after himself as the grantee.
The stolen properties combined were over $800,000, according to the district attorney's office.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Two of the three churches are still under Foster's or his church's name, with his congregation still actively gathering at one of them. The third church remains embroiled in legal complications caused by Foster's actions, attorneys said.
“Property ownership is a bedrock of our society – it provides security, a home, a place to love and welcome each other," said Lead Prosecutor Phillip Clark.
"It also represents a very active part of our economy, both in terms of buying, selling, and renting property, as well as property taxes that support everything our government does for the citizens of Dallas County. Deed Fraud cases are not simply disputes; they are lies and fraud – they are theft – and they are deeply damaging. I’m so grateful that the jury saw the truth in this case and held the defendant to account.”
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
The DA's office stated that during the trial, the jury was presented with evidence of seven additional fraudulent deeds that shared the same characteristics as the three deeds that were the subject of the charges.
