Group sues Opa Locka pastor, leaves church over money

For years, an Opa-locka pastor asked members of his congregation to open up their hearts ? and their wallets.

Since December, Anthony Cheverez of the Sanctuary Pentecostal Church has been sued by four women who left his church and claim that they lent him a total of about $20,000.

When an El Nuevo Herald team asked him about the lawsuits he is facing for not repaying thousands of dollars he had borrowed from members of his congregation, Cheverez, 46, who works as a maintenance mechanic at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pulled out his wallet and bragged that he was a federal officer ? though he never actually showed his ID.

Cheverez refused to comment on the four lawsuits filed by Nery Nancy Garc?a, who is disabled, Luz Marina M?ndez, who has worked selling hotdogs in the downtown area for almost two decades, Luisa Guerra and Karla Zald?var.

?I was conned mercilessly by these people,? said Garc?a, crying. ?This false prophet used the word of God to take our money. And he told us constantly that he was an immigration official.?

An ICE spokesperson said in an email that Cheverez did not make decisions on immigration policies and their enforcement.

?As public servants working for an enforcement agency, ICE employees must perform at the highest level of professionalism and ethical conduct,? the spokesperson said. ?Allegations of bad behavior are treated extremely seriously and are subject to proper investigation.?

For months, the women who filed the lawsuits say they contacted Cheverez and his wife asking for payment of the loans. After receiving no response, they decided to sue.

Bernice Cheverez, the pastor?s wife, who also preaches in the church, said that the lawsuits were filed by people who ?want to harm the church.?

Without giving any details, Bernice added that one of the cases had been resolved and they were working to settle another one.

The women used to visit the church at 4300 NW 135 St. However, that location has been closed. According to Bernice, the church moved when the lease expired.

Garc?a and Guerra filed lawsuits against the pastor and his wife for payments of $3,500 and $5,000 respectively.

According to Garc?a, 65, her first loan to Cheverez was for $500 before December 2011 to help build a new temple for the church.

Two months later, Garc?a lent him $6,000 more to organize ?Whit Sunday,? a journey commemorating the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Garc?a said that Cheverez told the congregation that this event, held on May 26, 2012, would cost about $40,000.

However, several months went by and Cheverez did not repay the money, Garc?a said. A Uruguayan who has lived in South Florida for 35 years, Garc?a urgently needed the money back because it was part of her brother?s pension, which she managed. Her brother had authorized Garc?a to use the money for any necessity.

Garc?a began discounting what she was owed directly from the offerings she used to give the church, which settled $3,042 of the $6,500 of the loan. After leaving the church, Garc?a sued in December 2012 for the remaining $3,500.

In April, the Miami-Dade court ruled that Garc?a was owed $2,900. The rest of the money was considered a donation.

?This has brought me a lot of problems,? Garc?a said. ?I lost my relationship with my brother, who is justifiably angry. At this moment, I don?t trust anybody. I distanced myself from all churches and now I am under psychological treatment.?

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/06/3488414/group-sues-opa-locka-pastor-leaves.html

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