Former pastor sentenced for embezzling from a local church

Date: Feb. 20, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Huntsville, AL - A former Huntsville pastor has been sentenced for embezzling more than $400,000, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.

United States District Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Adrian Derrell Davis to 60 months in prison. In October 2025, Davis pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

According to the information and plea agreement, Davis was the pastor at All Nations Worship Assembly (the "Church") in Huntsville. From 2018 to 2020, Davis used his position as pastor to embezzle approximately $434,339 from the Church. For example, in 2018, Davis used $30,920 in Church funds to purchase an Audi A7. In 2019, Davis used $45,982 in Church funds to purchase a 2016 GMC Yukon. He also used Church funds to make 41 payments totaling $117,000 to satisfy the balance of his personal American Express card. Purchases that Davis made on this card included luxury items totaling $4,970.15 at Louis Vuitton and $5,300.00 at Flight Club, a shoe store in New York. In 2020, Davis used Church funds to pay a balance of $18,530 on a credit card that he had used to purchase jewelry. He also made additional payments from Church funds to his personal American Express card that totaled over $151,000. Items purchased that were paid with Church funds included a $29,900 purchase from Hublot, a $28,000 purchase from Peter Marco, and a $6,022.50 purchase from Louis Vuitton. None of these payments or purchases were authorized or approved by the Church.

Davis also failed to report the embezzled profit on his individual tax returns for 2018, 2019, and 2020 resulting in a tax loss to the IRS in the amount of $114,859.00. Davis did not provide his tax preparer with records showing that he had received and spent more than $400,000 of the Church's funds in tax years 2018-2020. Additionally, Davis suggested to his tax preparer that his extra income came only from speaking engagements.

"Davis betrayed his congregation when he abused his position of trust for personal gain," said U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona. "My office is committed to holding accountable individuals who violate positions of public trust."

"Adrian Davis stole funds from his parishioners and filed false tax returns to conceal his crime," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kristen A. Yukness, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. "IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents are dedicated to ensuring that individuals who hold positions of trust within the community and use those positions to participate in fraudulent financial activities are held accountable."

IRS-CI and the United States Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan S. Rummage prosecuted the case. IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.