North Carolina pastor charged with embezzlement for stealing hurricane relief donations

January 22, 2025

A North Carolina pastor has been arrested and charged with felony embezzlement and felony larceny after a months-long investigation into the misuse of hurricane relief funds.

The Christian Post reports that 60 year old Jeffrey Brian Merrow was arrested by the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office after congregants reported concerns about, “embezzlement, fraud and theft” at the church.

Concerned church members showed law enforcement “numerous receipts” for “goods that were never purchased or services that were never rendered, all paid for with church funds”

In a statement released last week, the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office said church members at Garden Creek Baptist Church had “reported that large amounts of cash donations for hurricane relief, collected from attendees and the community, were handed to Merrow but never turned in for their intended use. Additionally, community-donated items for hurricane relief such as generators, chainsaws, heaters, and more–were reported stolen.”

In addition to the embezzlement charges, Merrow also is on supervised probation for a larceny conviction in 2021 and has a criminal history dating back to 2006.

Merrow had also been incarcerated from Oct 2007 to Feb 2008 for cheating people out of money.

Hurricane Helene devastated parts of North Carolina in September, killing at least 100 people and causing $59.6 billion in damage. 

Photo: top, Credit: NCDOT