Justice was served Wednesday afternoon in federal court as Terry Hall learned his sentence for defrauding the government and duping his congregation at Turning Point Church of God in McLeansboro. Hall will serve up to 21 months behind bars and is on the hook for restitution to the Small Business Administration of $210,103.62.
In a scathing sentencing memo, Hall is described as taking great steps to acquire $199,000 in CoViD relief money in the church’s name calling him deceptive. In the document, Hall created fake documents, reached out to Congressmen Mike Bost’s office to ask for assistance in pushing the loan through, and intimidating fellow church members.
Hall first began applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan in April of 2020. In July 28th of 2020, he electronically signed the loan and $92,900 was directly wired to his personal bank account. Then in April of 2021, Hall began the process of seeking a second disbursement of EIDL. By then, the Small Business Administration had changed policies and was requiring more information to confirm the loan amount would be used properly. That’s when Hall “continually messaged the SBA in an effort to push the loan through. At one point, he even appealed to Congressman Bost saying the church was in desperate need of the money due to the pandemic.” Hall was quoted as saying “[The SBA] began to ask very personal things about the church financial statements and budgets and also questioning our federal tax exception. Just need help pushing this threw [sic]. The church was closed 11 weeks in 2020 and have been closed 6 weeks in 2021. The funds would be helpful. Thank you!”
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During that second disbursement process, after the SBA told Hall he couldn’t put his personal bank account on the loan application, he had to convince the church’s finance committee that it should send all of the loan money to him. Witnesses described Hall’s demeanor as mean and combative and said they felt intimidated to approve his request. On May 17, 2022 the SBA dispersed $107,000 into the church’s bank account and that money was immediately transferred to Hall’s personal bank account.
According to bank records, Hall spent that money paying off his mortgage, construction of a pole barn, various travels, and other personal expenses including clothing, gas, and food.
The memo goes on to say Hall’s actions were devastating to the church. Church members estimate around half of the congregation left and/or lost faith in the ministry due to Hall’s actions. Church members called him “verbally aggressive” and a “bully.” When the FBI confronted Hall about his actions, Hall attempted to downplay stating that the loan was simply a personal loan and intended for 1099 contractors.
Since 2020, the Department of Justice has charged more than 3,000 people, companies, and entities with CoViD fraud related crimes with defendants being sentenced to prison between 1 and 5 years.