A prominent black pastor fraudulently transferred his church-owned home to his wife to duck a $75,000 judgment, an accounting firm claims in court.
MacFarlane and Associates sued Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, its pastor C.L. Jackson and his wife, Bettie Jackson, in Harris County Court.
His church refused to pay for accounting services provided by plaintiff MacFarlane and Associates, P.C.
The accounting firm claims after more than a year of trying to collect from Pleasant Grove, it had no choice but to sue.
When the case went to trial this year, Pleasant Grove's attorneys claimed MacFarlane overbilled for its services, MacFarlane says.
Courthouse News reports:
MacFarlane says the court awarded it more than $75,000 in a judgment against the church. But it says church refused to pay, forcing the accountants to conduct post-judgment discovery.
"As part of its post-judgment discovery, plaintiff MacFarlane uncovered that on January 11, 2012, immediately after the court announced that defendant Pleasant Grove would legally owe plaintiff MacFarlane an amount in excess of $75,000, Sheldon Jackson left the courtroom and called his father, Pastor Jackson to inform him of the impending judgment," the complaint states. "This call spurred Pastor Jackson into action.
"Within days after the court pronounced its decision against defendant Pleasant Grove and before plaintiff MacFarlane could have its judgment signed by the court, defendants began a concerted effort to fraudulently block plaintiff MacFarlane's future collection efforts," the complaint states.
"On January 20, 2010 defendants fraudulently transferred Pastor Jackson's home from church ownership to the sole ownership of defendant Bettie J. Jackson."
MacFarlane seeks damages for fraudulent transfer and conspiracy.
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