Lawyers for activist missionary and worship leader Sean Feucht have asked a California court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Christian philanthropist and businessman Steve Bray, accusing him of misspending a $250,000 donation he made to his ministry through the National Christian Foundation, a donor-advised fund, more than three years ago.
“This lawsuit can be interpreted in multiple ways. Read one way, it is the case of a donor who fears — albeit without any evidence — that funds he gave to a third party years ago may have been misused by the ultimate beneficiary, well after those funds left the donor’s own control,” Feucht’s lawyers state in a June 5 filing in the U.S. District Court Central District of California.
“Read another way, this suit is a thinly pleaded bid to undertake a large-scale fishing expedition into Defendants’ financial records, as part of a larger effort to harass and target Defendants’ main figurehead, Christian pastor, and worship leader Sean Feucht. Much points to the latter,” they argue.
In his lawsuit, initially filed in March, Bray, through his electrical and temporary power services company S.R. Bray, LLC, accused Feucht of diverting the money he donated to support ministry work for his personal benefit. Bray’s attorneys alleged that Feucht used some or all of the donation to buy real estate.
Feucht’s attorneys argued in his motion to dismiss Bray’s lawsuit that Bray did not restrict what the $250,000 donation could be used for.
“In March 2023, SFM allegedly received a $250,000 donation from the National Christian Foundation, a donor-advised fund. At the time, federal law provided that a donor to such a fund could claim a tax deduction in the year in which the donation was made,” Feucht’s lawyers state.
“The Complaint does not allege that Mr. Bray made a restricted gift to NCF. Nor does the Complaint allege that Mr. Bray imposed any detailed conditions in his recommendation to NCF. Mr. Bray urged — but did not dictate — that the funds be released for the general purpose of ‘2023 worship at capitals and other cities.’”
Feucht’s lawyers argued that Bray’s lawsuit was inspired by a third-party ministry watchdog giving Sean Feucht Ministries an unfavorable rating in 2024 for not filing 990 forms with the IRS for tax-exempt organizations to maintain their status. They noted, however, that because Feucht’s ministry is classified as an association of churches, it is not legally required to file the forms.
“That rating appears to be the entire basis for this lawsuit. Plaintiff now alleges — without anything more than speculation — that the funds donated to NCF were not ultimately used to support the 2023 Let Us Worship tour, or to support worship activities in capitals and other cities,” Feucht’s lawyers argue.
“Plaintiff’s claims are not only meritless — the tour took place and Defendants deny that the donation in question was not used for the designated purpose — but Plaintiff has systematically failed to make out any cognizable legal claim at all. For that reason, Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to state any basis upon which relief might be granted and should be promptly dismissed.”
In recent months, Feucht has faced serious allegations of unrighteous financial, spiritual and moral misconduct by former workers of his multiple ministries.
While churches are required to disclose their financial information to the IRS, Bray told the Roys Report that transparency is an important Christian value that should be pursued by ministers who are called to be above reproach.
“He needs to have everything disclosed. If you want to be personal, start a company … you don’t have to tell anybody what your salary is,” Bray said. “But if you’re in ministry, you better be willing to, you know, pony up. And when they don’t want to do it, huge red flags, sirens, yellow lights, red lights.”
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