[1]BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP)–Gregory Clarke, pastor of the 6,000-member New Hope Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for three counts of filing false income tax returns.
A judge in December also ordered Clarke to pay more than $35,000 in restitution to the government after his July 2007 jury conviction, according to The Birmingham News.
Clarke, who has been pastor of New Hope since 1986, claimed that much of the money he received was gifts or “love offerings” rather than compensation for services he provided.
Prosecutors said Clarke underreported $110,000 in earned income during 2000, 2001 and 2002 and devised an intricate system of deceiving the government, funneling earned income into accounts, according to The News. Jurors found Clarke guilty on three counts of tax fraud.
Clarke, 53, is scheduled to begin serving his sentence Feb. 15, but his attorneys have asked a judge to allow him to delay the sentence and remain free on bond while he appeals his conviction.
[2]New Hope Baptist Church’s website describes Clarke as a “skilled administrator known for his financial knowledge” and says he is “much sought after to conduct seminars on topics relating to Church Growth, Developing Church Leaders and Financial Planning.”
Officials at the African American church approved giving Clarke $60,000 of the money in question, The News reported.
Prosecutors said Clarke deserved prison because, as paraphrased by the newspaper, “his conduct involved a well-orchestrated system of lies and deceit, carried out through multiple entities and individuals over a period of several years.”
“Prosecutors said Clarke’s crime was unlike typical defendants who simply misrepresent income to an accountant or fraudulently claim certain deductions or withholding taxes,” The News reported.
Clarke’s lawyers, though, argued he should not be imprisoned because he could pay restitution and continue his good deeds by caring for those in need of his spiritual guidance and compassion. They also said his incarceration would be a tremendous blow to the community, The News reported.
Clarke has led an exemplary life, his attorneys said, pointing to his achievements in persuading local gang leaders to accept the church and establishing a credit union to serve lower-income residents in west Birmingham.
“Hopefully, the court will conclude, based on the undisputed facts, that Pastor Clarke’s activity in this case was a unique departure from a life without the blemish of any criminal behavior,” his lawyers wrote, according to The News.
New Hope Baptist is affiliated with the Birmingham Baptist Association and the Southern Baptist Convention.
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Compiled by Erin Roach, Baptist Press staff writer.