Marrero Temple of Christ Church minister pleads guilty

[Ian David]

Marrero minister pleads guilty
Posted by dpersica May 03, 2007 11:55AM

A Marrero minister accused of bilking a credit union for more than $13,000 in the chaos following Hurricane Katrina pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to bank larceny.

Aaron Frazier, 43, the pastor of the Temple of Christ Church at 642 Silver Lilly Lane and a Westwego resident, pleaded guilty to the charges before US District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison at his sentencing in August, according to a press release from US Attorney Jim Letten's office. However, maximum sentences are extremely rare for first time offenders, particularly those who pleaded guilty.

Authorities said from Sept. 3 to Sept. 16, 2005 Frazier used a computer malfunction at ASI Federal Credit Union to withdraw $13,194 from his account despite only having $50 in the account before Katrina. Frazier apparently then went on shopping sprees at several retail stores in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Frazier was one of nine people indicted in August for taking advantage of the malfunction at the credit union which allowed individuals unlimited overdrafts on their accounts without penalty. More than $90,000 was reported stolen from Aug. 31 to Sept. 17. Frazier originally faced a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

More:
http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/05/_a_marrero_minister_accused.html