Baltimore, MD – Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced Thursday that a former Anne Arundel County pastor has been convicted and sentenced for willfully filing a false state income tax return after failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars he stole from his church.
Jerome Isaac Hurley, 44, of Pasadena, Maryland, was sentenced in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County to six months in jail, all suspended, and five years of supervised probation. The sentencing follows Hurley’s conviction on December 4, 2024, for failing to report $347,000 he unlawfully took from Miracle Temple Church in Lothian, where he served as pastor from 2017 to 2022.
The Theft and Tax Fraud
The case stems from a 2020 fire at the church’s parsonage, after which Hurley filed an insurance claim on behalf of the church. The insurance company issued a payment of $350,000 to the church on March 20, 2021. Just days later, on March 31, 2021, Hurley deposited $347,000 of that money into his personal account and used it for personal expenses.
When he filed his 2021 Maryland income tax return, Hurley did not report the stolen funds, resulting in an unpaid tax liability of $33,595.05 to the state.
Previous Guilty Plea for Theft
This tax conviction follows Hurley’s earlier March 11, 2025 guilty plea to theft charges in a separate case prosecuted by the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office. That case specifically addressed the misappropriation of church funds.
“This case reflects a betrayal of trust by a community leader who exploited his position for personal gain and then tried to hide it from tax authorities,” said Attorney General Brown. “We will continue to hold individuals accountable who violate the law and abuse their positions of trust.”
Attorney General Brown credited his Criminal Division, including Division Chief Katie Dorian, Fraud and Corruption Unit Chief Alex Huggins, and Assistant Attorney General Warren Davis, for prosecuting the case. He also thanked Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess for her office’s collaboration.
Hurley remains under supervised probation, and the resolution of both the theft and tax fraud cases highlights the coordinated effort between state legal offices to bring justice in a case involving both financial crime and abuse of public trust.
