A Maryland man was sentenced to five years of supervised probation after being convicted of willfully filing a false Maryland tax return by failing to report $347,000 he stole from a church insurance payout.
Per the news release distributed on Wednesday, May 14: “Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced that Jerome Isaac Hurley, 44, of Pasadena, Maryland, was sentenced in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County for willfully filing a false Maryland State Tax Return. He was convicted of the charge on December 4, 2024. The Honorable Stacy McCormack sentenced Hurley to six months of incarceration, all suspended in favor of five years of supervised probation.
From 2017 until October 2022, Hurley was the Pastor at the Miracle Temple Church in Lothian, Maryland. In 2020, a fire occurred at the church parsonage and Hurley filed an insurance claim on behalf of the church. On March 20, 2021, the insurance company paid the church $350,000 for the claim. On March 31, 2021, Hurley stole $347,000 from the church and deposited the money into his personal account and used the funds for personal expenses.
When Hurley filed his 2021 income tax return, he failed to include the $347,000 in income. This resulted in his failure to pay $33,595.05 in taxes to the State of Maryland.
On March 11, 2025, Hurley pleaded guilty to theft in a separate case prosecuted by the State’s Attorney’s Office for Anne Arundel County related to the theft from the church.
In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Brown thanked his Criminal Division, specifically Division Chief Katie Dorian, Fraud and Corruption Unit Chief Alex Huggins, and Assistant Attorney General Warren Davis, who prosecuted this case. Attorney General Brown also thanked State’s Attorney for Anne Arundel County Anne Colt Leitess for assisting with this prosecution.”