A former assistant pastor at an Oxnard church admitted to stealing $200,000 from the house of worship — while the congregation’s founder was on his deathbed — and spending the money on flights, a phone and a new Tennessee home, authorities said.
On Friday, Curtis Frank Lemons, 68, was sentenced to two years in state prison for misappropriating funds from New Progressive Christian Baptist Church in Oxnard, according to the Ventura County district attorney’s office.
In December 2020, Lemons issued himself a $200,000 cashier’s check from a bank account belonging to the church, authorities said. He then moved from Camarillo to Atoka, Tenn., and spent the stolen funds on airline tickets, dental work, a new car, a new cell phone and property between January and April 2021, prosecutors said.
Lemons carried out his scheme while the tight-knit baptist community was contending both with the final months of life of its founder, the Rev. Jesse James Taylor, and the challenges of delivering remote prayer during the pandemic, Ventura County Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Howard Wise told The Times.
Taylor used money he made in Oxnard real estate to help support the church and build a community of worship for friends and family, said Wise, who prosecuted the case. A significant portion of the stolen $200,000 came from the reverend’s own pockets.
“Mr. Lemons stole from a vulnerable victim at a vulnerable time,” Wise said in a statement. “The patriarch of the church was near death when this happened … Mr. Lemons made a terrible decision but has accepted responsibility for his significant theft.”
Taylor, who was affectionately known as “Uncle Rev.,” founded the church in 1963 alongside his wife Lura Dell Taylor, according to his obituary. He died in August 2021 at age 87.
The Oxnard Police Department investigated the theft after it was reported by a member of the church. Lemons initially told police that he had given the money to charity, however financial records later revealed that he had spent the money on personal expenses, Wise said.
In April, Lemons pleaded guilty to two counts of grand theft and one count of money laundering.
