A former pastor from Kildare was given a six-and-a-half-year jail sentence for stealing more than €125,000 from his own church via theft and fraud, reports RTE.
After a three-week trial at Naas Circuit Criminal Court last month, Ebenezer Oduntan, a former pastor of the City of David Church in Naas, County Kildare, was found guilty on 87 charges of various theft and fraud offences.
The church is a branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, which is headquartered in Nigeria. It has been located at Naas Enterprise Park, Naas, Co Kildare, since 2015, reports RTE.
Midway through his trial, Oduntan, 58, a married father of four from Curragh Grange, Newbridge, County Kildare, admitted his guilt to 19 counts of theft, 5 counts of deception, and 9 counts of giving false information to the Companies Registration Office. Oduntan had initially pleaded innocent to 54 separate charges.
The naturalised Irish citizen, a cab driver, was charged with 73 different theft offences, five counts of deceit, and nine corporate law violations after the Corporate Enforcement Authority conducted an inquiry.
From 2012 until 2020, he had exclusive access to and control over the City of David Church’s finances in his capacity as pastor, reports RTE.
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