NEW ORLEANS – A pastor at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church last week was charged with fraud for allegedly using his account at ASI FCU to launder $45,000 in Hurricane Katrina relief funds for his own use.
Noah Thomas, Jr. allegedly received $35,000 from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, which was organized by the two former presidents to provide relief for victims of the massive storm. He received another $10,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which he allegedly deposited into his personal credit union account and failed to remit to his church, according to a criminal information filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The pastor allegedly had the checks mailed to his home so the congregation would not know of their existence.
