Pastor of World’s Largest Church Imprisoned for Embezzlement

David Yonggi Cho, the 78-year-old leader of the world’s largest Pentecostal mega church, was recently convicted of embezzling $12 million and sentenced to serve three years in prison. News of this famed pastor’s indictment spread through the Christian community like wild-fire. Followers of the South Korean pastor searched for an explanation on how their disgraced leader became entangled in such a crime.

Cho was sentenced to three years in prison after he was convicted of directing officials to purchase stocks at four times the market price from his son. He was also convicted of tax evasion fraud of $3.2 million. As a result his church, which was founded in 1958, lost $12 million. Cho has been ordered to pay back $4.6 million.

Hee-Jun, Cho’s eldest son, was also sentenced to three years for his participation in his dad’s embezzlement scheme. Hee-Jun is the former CEO of Kookmin Ilbo, a media company. He was taken into custody immediately following the court order because he was viewed … click HERE to continue reading