Church Donations Allegedly Paid for BMW Payments and a Motorcycle. Now a Pastor and His Wife Face Charges Over $200,000

Image Credit: Richland County Sheriff’s Department. A former South Carolina pastor and his wife are facing felony charges after investigators accused them of using more than $200,000 in church money for personal expenses, including a motorcycle, BMW payments and vehicle insurance.

Barry Lee Spears, 54, and Jeri B. Spears, 64, also known as DeeDee, surrendered to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department on Sept. 29, 2026. Investigators obtained arrest warrants the previous day, according to FITSNews.

Barry Spears previously led SonRise Baptist Church on Alpine Road near Columbia. The congregation has since been renamed Hilltop Baptist Church, WIS reported, citing confirmation from the sheriff’s department.

The investigation began on June 9, 2025, after a church member reported concerns that donations collected through the congregation’s nonprofit status were being used to pay personal bills. Both defendants were booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and received personal recognizance bonds.

The original complaint included allegations that donations had paid family credit card bills and a past-due IRS obligation tied to a pest control company Barry Spears previously owned, according to an incident report described by The Roys Report. The complainant told investigators an assistant pastor had contacted him and provided church bank statements showing transactions he believed were fraudulent.

The incident report listed an offense period from June 9, 2024, through June 9, 2025. The sheriff’s department later said receipts and other financial records showed alleged misuse by Barry Spears dating back to 2018.

SonRise removed Barry Spears as pastor in May, before his arrest. In a June 2 statement, the congregation said he had also been removed as a church member and described findings from a three-year engagement with The Hobbs Group of Columbia.

The statement, reproduced by ChurchLeaders, cited “a lack of institutional control concerning church finances.” Church leaders said the review identified unauthorized spending and an absence of accountability and safeguards against fraud.

Barry and Jeri Spears were the only individuals listed on the church accounts during the period examined and had complete control over the finances, the congregation said. Church leaders said the accounts had since been secured and new measures introduced to improve transparency and restore members’ trust.

The church’s statement also identified funds received for Hammer Down Ministries, described as helping people who had struggled with addiction. Church leaders said that money had been routed through SonRise’s accounts and “converted for personal use.”

The congregation said it would cooperate with law enforcement. Its June statement also said several members had been interviewed by federal authorities in May in connection with an investigation into the church’s finances.

Richland County’s public index lists three cases against Barry Spears, all filed Sept. 29. His forgery record lists an offense involving $10,000 or more, while a separate case lists first-degree computer crime involving a value exceeding $10,000.

The third public-index entry uses the label “Breach / Obtain signature or prop. under false pretenses, value $10,000 or more.” That differs from the sheriff’s arrest announcement, which described Barry Spears’ third charge as breach of trust with fraudulent intent.

Jeri Spears was charged with obtaining goods worth $10,000 or more under false pretenses, according to ABC Columbia’s account of the sheriff’s announcement.

South Carolina’s computer-crime law covers, among other conduct, accessing a computer without authorization or for an unauthorized purpose to carry out fraud. An offense falls within the first-degree tier when the resulting gain or victim’s loss exceeds $10,000. A conviction can carry up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000 or both.

The state’s criminal code provides maximum prison terms of 10 years for forgery involving $10,000 or more, breach of trust with fraudulent intent involving $10,000 or more and obtaining a signature or property worth $10,000 or more by false pretenses. Those are statutory maximums upon conviction, not sentences imposed in this case.

The computer-crime record displays a $50,000 personal recognizance bond. The forgery and third public-index records each display $10,000 personal recognizance bonds. Under South Carolina’s bail law, personal recognizance permits release without a surety; the listed amounts do not establish that Spears paid those sums in cash.

The records show the bonds were set Sept. 29 and list posting dates of Sept. 30. The conditions prohibit direct or indirect contact with the victim.

All three case summaries, printed Oct. 4, list Barry Spears’ first appearance for Nov. 20, 2026, at 10 a.m. and mark the cases as pending initial appearance. The accusations against both defendants remain allegations, and they are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.