La. pastor steals $340K from churches for gambling, personal expenses

Nation/WorldPublished: Jul. 23, 2026, 3:59 a.m.By Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.comA pastor stole more than $340,000 from two churches for gambling and personal expenses, according to a conviction announced last week.Dale Sanders, 56, of Kenner, Louisiana, was convicted by a jury Friday on charges of wire fraud, access device fraud, and obstruction of a federal investigation. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana, Sanders “defrauded Church A and Church B in order to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.”According to WGNO, Sanders was a Jefferson Parish pastor when he took money from a church’s bank accounts and transferred the cash to accounts he controlled. A years-long investigat