Stolen name, stolen benefits: New details on alleged cult, FBI raid on mansion
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MARTINEZ, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The FBI and Columbia County deputies raided a West Lake mansion Wednesday, arresting the leader of the House of Prayer — a group critics call a cult that scams veterans out of benefits.
Columbia County deputies assisted with the raid at 3816 Honors Way, but it’s a Federal Bureau of Investigation case involving allegations of financial or identity theft and fraud.
The founder of the House of Prayer was taken into custody and booked into jail, but we’re not even sure who the mysterious man really is.
He goes by Rony Denis, but federal authorities say he stole that identity in 1983, so they don’t know his true name.
He’s one of eight House of Prayer leaders indicted in various fraud schemes and tax charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The department will announce the unsealing of the indictment at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
According to a federal indictment, the church founder used his stolen identity to become a U.S. citizen in 2002 and went on to establish the church that same year in Baton Rouge, La.
He later moved the headquarters to Hinesville, Ga., and it ultimately opened about a dozen locations in the U.S., mostly near military installations.
Some of those locations, including one at 2952 Old Tobacco Road in Augusta, were raided three years ago by the FBI, which seized boxes full of documents.
Although they have similar names, the House of Prayer has no relation to the United House of Prayer on Wrightsboro Road.
What are the allegations?
Authorities and critics say the church and its affiliate House of Prayer Bible Seminary specifically target military members and veterans in a scheme to get their benefits.
The indictment alleges Denis and his close associates — Anthony Oloans, Joseph Fryar, Dennis Nostrant, Gerard Robertson, David Reip, Marcus Labat and Omar Garcia — used their leadership positions to exert extreme control over congregants.
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