Busted! FBI raid House of Prayer

 Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the House of Prayer Christian Church the morning of June 23. The church is located off Airport Road in Hinesville.

For years former members of the church have stated it was less a church and more like a cult.

Per Courier correspondent Lewis Levine, law enforcement officers were seen carrying weapons around the area of the church and a group of women and men were seen standing outside one of the buildings on the property being guarded by a female officer with a weapon.

According to various news agencies, two other churches that are affiliated with House of Prayer were also raided June 23. One was Assembly of Prayer in Augusta, the other Assembly of Prayer Church in Killeen Texas.

House of Prayer Church leader Rony Denis reportedly lives in Augusta.

"I can confirm that the FBI is on scene executing a court authorized search warrant," said Jenna Sellitto, the FBI Public Affairs Officer from Atlanta. "No arrests have been made. Our investigation is ongoing, so I cannot provide further details at this time."

While the FBI can't comment on the ongoing investigation several former members have alleged abuse toward children, lack of accredited education for the children, real estate fraud, and fraud committed against veterans.

In August of 2020 a letter was sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Georgia State Approving Agency by a group called Veterans Education Success, requesting they investigate alleged abuses of the GI Bill program by House of Prayer Christian Church’s bible seminaries.

The letter stated:

"We recently received complaints by former students of House of Prayer Christian Church (HOPCC). A Veterans Education Success staff lawyer interviewed several former students, a current student, and former employees. The contact information for each student and employee is provided at the end of this letter. The information presented here is compiled from those interviews as well as publicly available information. Based on the interviews, Veterans Education Success respectfully requests that a targeted risk-based review be conducted of HOPCC."

Some of the allegation in the letter include:

1. HOPCC is allegedly deceiving VA and defrauding veterans of their education benefits
2. HOPCC officials allegedly lie to VA inspectors
3. HOPCC allegedly charges VA students a significantly higher tuition
4. HOPCC allegedly misled VA about teacher qualifications
5. HOPCC students say they were required to recruit new students during class time 
6. HOPCC allegedly changes its curriculum to keep students enrolled longer 
7. HOPCC student veterans deplete their veterans education benefits and never receive a completion certificate
8. HOPCC provides students with a very low-quality education
9. HOPCC does not provide students with financial or academic records
10. HOPCC is allegedly engaged in other criminal activity and operates like a cult
11. HOPCC allegedly manipulates veterans into donating their VA disability compensation to the church
12. HOPCC is allegedly engaged in mortgage fraud 
13. HOPCC may be under FBI investigation 

Based on their interviews with former members the letter further stated:

1. HOPCC is likely violating multiple VA regulations
2. VA should disapprove GI Bill enrollment at HOPCC under 38 USC § 3696
3. HOPCC is likely violating the 85-15 rule

Link to letter:

Letter to DVA