Bishop Eddie Long has been sued by former New Birth Missionary Baptist members who say the megachurch pastor encouraged them to invest money with a company despite being told the investor was running a $3 million capital deficit.
The suit, filed late last month in DeKalb County state court, alleges Long’s assistant had been warned by an unidentified caller that Ephren W. Taylor was not to be trusted nearly two weeks before the self-professed “social capitalist” held a series of financial seminars in October 2009 at the Lithonia church.
New Birth, Long and Taylor are all named in the suit filed by 12 former church members who say they lost more than $1 million dollars in the alleged Ponzi scheme.
“If Bishop Eddie Long hadn’t endorsed this they wouldn’t have invested,” plaintiffs attorney Jason Doss said.
According to the lawsuit, Long did not invest himself, but urged his parishioners to invest with Taylor, who he introduced as his “friend (and) brother” prior to his pitch before the church.
Church spokesman Art Franklin said in a statement that Long “remain(s) hopeful that Ephren Taylor and companies related to him restore the funds that were taken from congregants at New Birth and churches around the county. We continue to cooperate as the case proceeds.”
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article courtesy of AJC.com
Former New Birth Members Sue Bishop Eddie Long was originally published on praisecleveland.com
