Bishop Gary Hawkins: Another Mega Church Pastor caught up in Investment Scam
DEKALB COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) –
CBS Atlanta News is exposing a local mega church leader’s relationship with a disreputable mortgage venture. The mortgage company he is tied to, Matrix Capital, is under investigation by federal law enforcement agencies.
We were first to report on Matrix Capital and its front man, Fred Lee. Lee is accused of preying on desperate homeowners who paid him thousands of dollars to save their homes. But dozens of Lee’s clients ended up in bankruptcy and foreclosure.
Now Chief Investigative Reporter Wendy Saltzman has uncovered evidence Bishop Gary Hawkins, the pastor of Voices of Faith church, was a partner in this lucrative scheme.
“I believe that beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man walks in great integrity,” Bishop Hawkins is recorded saying in a Matrix Capital promotional video.
Hawkins allowed Lee into his church and promoted him as a financial savior. Then members of his own flock started losing their homes, and they became suspicious their own pastor was receiving kickbacks.
“Being in the church, you have more of a trust,” Steve Dorsey said.
Dorsey and Sheila Robinson were lured in by Lee’s sales pitch at the seminar held at Voices of Faith church.
“I trusted my Bishop’s credibility. And because of him I gave into someone I didn’t know,” Robinson said.
Robinson paid lee $1500 and nearly lost her home after Lee failed to successfully get the loan modification Matrix promised her.
Court records uncovered for the first time by CBS Atlanta News document claims Hawkins was allegedly paid tens of thousands of dollars to give Lee access to his church.
“How much did Matrix Capital pay you to allow them to come into your church?” Saltzman asked Hawkins.
“Matrix did not sit down with me and do any of those things. Matrix, I think, is a good company, and I think they’ve gotten an unfair rap,” the bishop responded.
Hawkins initially tried to defend Matrix and he tried to cover up his relationship with Fred Lee.
“Don’t you think they preyed on your church members?” Saltzman asked.
“I don’t know what took place with my members at the church,” Hawkins said. “I do pray for them. I pray for our church members. I pray for Matrix that they should have done what is right.”
But the promotional video shows Hawkins brought Lee into his church and vouched for the man that would eventually be accused of stealing from his church members.
“I worked with them to help get our church members better loan rates and stuff like that. Unfortunately, some things happened where it did not occur,” Hawkins told Saltzman.
In recent months Hawkins divorce from his wife Debbie turned messy. Her divorce filing detailed the bishops “secretive” involvement with Matrix Capital and allegations he received tens of thousands of dollars from Fred Lee that wasn’t reporting as part of his financial records.
“It says here they paid you tens of thousands of dollars,” Saltzman said to Hawkins.
“No, that’s not true,” he said.
“How much were you paid to allow them to come in and prey on your church members?” Saltzman asked.
“It was very little money. I don’t remember, but it was very little,” he replied.
Fred Lee is being investigated by the IRS and the Federal Trade Commission. That investigation is expected to wrap up soon. Inside sources say Lee may not be the only one named on that indictment.
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