Churches React to Alleged Scam

Some Cut Services To Cover Losses

The First Baptist Church of Highland Park was packed with 2,000 people who came to its Good Friday service. But before recounting Jesus's last words, the Rev. Henry P. Davis paused for a prayer for the African American congregations, including his own, that are part of an alleged computer scam that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The District filed suit this week against five corporations involved in the alleged swindle. Yesterday, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty asked the Justice Department to investigate the companies that left a trail of angry church leaders from the District to California.

"These businesses knew exactly what they were doing," Fenty (D) said during a news conference to criticize the scheme. "They made it seem like they were bringing a technological advance to the church, and what they were doing was setting themselves up to take thousands of dollars from the churches who needed the money for their own survival."

Mount Horeb Baptist Church in the District said it lost $62,000 and has cut services to make ends meet. New Redeemer Baptist Church in Forestville lost $15,000. First Baptist, which lost $5,000, yesterday held its annual Good Friday service, bringing together a dozen congregations from the region. The focus was on Easter, not the money.

"If Jesus can overcome the cross and death, the church can deal with any challenge," said Davis, whose 3,000-member congregation in Landover is one of about 50 congregations across the region involved in what they describe as a bait-and-switch.

Churches were offered cost-free information kiosks, placed prominently in their foyers, that were to be interactive and allow members to access church information and community activities. Fenty said the churches received faulty equipment and lengthy leases that cost thousands of dollars. Some churches' bank accounts were raided, he said, after they provided the companies with checks that included their bank information.

Named in the suit were United Leasing Associates of America of Brookfield, Wis.; Balboa Capital of Irvine, Calif.; Chesapeake Industrial Leasing of Baltimore; Television Broadcasting Online of the District; and the Urban Interfaith Network of Oxon Hill. The suit also names Willie Perkins of the District and Michael J. Morris of Waldorf. Officials from Balboa and United Leasing vehemently denied the allegations, saying they are similar to claims made by a group of churches in the Detroit area.

Davis said that his church learned about the kiosks from other congregations and that it seemed like a good investment because they were told they might receive additional revenue from advertising from companies that wanted to reach a church audience.

"They wrote in small print that they had the ability to directly debit our accounts, and we had equipment that did not work," he said.