Cleveland pastor indicted in $386,000 church theft

CLEVELAND — Artis Caver’s financial blunders caused him to lose his job, his church, his home and his tour bus company. Now prosecutors want the former pastor of Harvest Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland to pay for his misdeeds with the loss of his freedom.

A Cleveland grand jury Nov. 30 returned a 25-count indictment against Caver, 56, on charges he stole $386,000 from his church’s bank accounts. Caver also was accused of money laundering, perjury and forgery — all felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison.

Caver used most of the money to prop up his failing bus business, AFC Charters Inc., said Assistant County Prosecutor James Gutierrez. Investigators said Caver also caused two church trustees to lose their homes by defaulting on a loan obtained by dubious means.

“It’s disappointing, as well as a real violation of the trust that these people of the church put in him,” Gutierrez said. “This was an inner-city church, and every $20 bill that they put in the collection plate was hard-earned.”