A San Francisco Bay Area pastor who defrauded members of his congregation out of a million dollars in investments has been sentenced to nearly 24 years in prison.
In announcing the sentencing Friday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra called the case against Pastor Luther Feltus-Curry "despicable."
Feltus-Curry was convicted in February of felony theft and securities fraud.
Prosecutors said the 69-year-old pastor devised a fake investment scheme to bilk congregants at his Revival Center Ministries in Vallejo.
He and a co-conspirator, Alma Perez, created shell companies and promised their victims low risk and high returns.
Instead they used the money for personal expenses and get-rich-quick schemes, ultimately defrauding the victims of their whole investment.
The East Bay Times says Perez was sentenced to 10 years in prison earlier this year.