FBI raids home of alleged cult accused of stealing from veterans

On Wednesday, the FBI raided a multi-million dollar Georgia mansion that was home to the leader of a church accused of stealing from veterans.

Prosecutors say members of the House of Prayer were pressured into handing over benefits and money, while leaders pocketed millions.

The seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom estate has a listing price of $1.96 million. It is located in the gated community of Westlake in Martinez, near Augusta.

Divorce documents tie a person named Rony Dennis to the address. According to an indictment just unsealed by the Feds, the leader of House of Prayer stole the name in 1983 and used it to become an American citizen in 2002, the same year he founded the House of Prayer Christian Churches of America.

Dennis, along with seven other leaders of the religious organization, is named in an indictment that accuses them of exploiting military personnel by recruiting them into the church, directing them to enroll in the church’s seminary, and then using their VA benefits to funnel money into accounts controlled by the church.

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The indictment goes on to describe how leaders maintained a list of “ex-traitors,” humiliated members, for perceived rule violations, and how the leaders restricted family members from contacting their loved ones who left the church.

The Feds say the eight also committed bank fraud by using straw buyers to seize homes, which they then converted into rental properties, collecting more than $5 million in rent in just two years.

The Justice Department says it will announce the unsealing of the indictment at a news conference on Thursday.

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