"....The pastor's elderly victims, some of whom were slipping into dementia when he preyed on them, said they trusted him because he professed his Christian faith and family values, only to discover that he's a "disgusting and sickening criminal."
Staley, who has appeared on multiple Christian TV networks and leads a congregation of about 200 people, could have gotten up to 11 ¼ years, but U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber only sentenced him to seven years because of his solid marriage and home life, lack of a criminal record or any drug or alcohol abuse.
The judge, however, felt that Staley showed "very little interest so far in making restitution" and played down his crime, repeatedly insisting in a 2013 video "I was not conning little old ladies out of their money." When he was eventually indicted in 2014 he blamed investor loss on a bad economy.
So far he has only repaid $1,950 of the required restitution even though he gets a church salary of $127,000 and lives rent free in a $1 million home."
Passion for Truth's Jim Staley Admits to Cheating Elderly Investors
"Jim Staley has pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud.
The controversial pastor of Passion for Truth Ministries admitted in court that he made more than a half-million dollars while cheating investors out of $3.3 million.
U.S. assistant Attorney Diana Collins tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch most of the victims were elderly who wanted to invest in a nice pastor.
"...Staley has come under fire in his professional ministry for his involvement with the Hebrew Roots ministry.
According to the Hebrew Roots website, Staley "had a supernatural experience and began to looking at the Bible through the Hebraic mindset, the mindset of the original authors. Eight years later, he has been dedicating his life to teaching others the same amazing life-changing Truths that have transformed him and his family."
He created Passion For Truth around these beliefs.
"To know the Truth of the Scriptures from the perspective of the ones who wrote them, instead of the perspective of the Greek 'church fathers' or western-American denominationalism. It is our passion to dig into the Scriptures and understand them within the framework from which they were written without reading into them 1,800 years of church tradition and man-made doctrine," according to the Hebrew Roots site.
He came to those conclusions nearly a decade ago, and has since changed his life around those thoughts. "
This Hebrew Roots "supernatural revelation" that Jim Staley claims to have experienced sounds remarkably like Joseph Smith's claim of a special revelation when he cooked up Mormonism. And that's not the only similarity what with Staley's career of defrauding investors. Before inventing Mormonism Joe Smith made a career of hiring himself out as a treasure hunter through the use of "peep stones".
Many thanks for the info!
Per that Hebrew roots site, Staley has (or had) a congregation of 200 people.
No books written.
Hmmm.