Televangelist Creflo Dollar was arrested on June 8, 2012, at his Fayetteville, Georgia, home on misdemeanor charges of simple battery and cruelty to children after his 15-year-old daughter called 911 during a family argument. He denied the allegations, entered a pretrial intervention program, and the charges were dismissed in January 2013.
What Happened the Night of the Arrest
Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Dollar’s home at about 1:00 a.m. The 911 call came from his 15-year-old daughter, who told the operator her father had “punched” and “choked” her after he refused to let her attend a party because of poor grades.1CBS News. Daughter of Creflo Dollar Says Alleged Abuse Was Not the First Time During 911 Call She said she felt “threatened” and that the abuse “was not the first time it’s happened.”2Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Creflo Dollar Daughter 911 Tape: Not the First Time
According to the police report, the daughter alleged that Dollar charged at her, put his hands around her throat, punched her, and hit her with his shoe. A responding deputy observed a scratch on her neck.36ABC. Details From Police Report on Creflo Dollar Arrest Dollar’s 19-year-old daughter Alexandria first backed her father’s account in her parents’ presence. After deputies spoke to her separately, she said Dollar had grabbed the younger girl by the shoulders, slapped her, choked her for about five seconds, and thrown her to the floor.1CBS News. Daughter of Creflo Dollar Says Alleged Abuse Was Not the First Time During 911 Call
Dollar told deputies a different story. He said his daughter had become “disrespectful,” and when she began to hit him, he “wrestled her to the floor and spanked her.”4NBC News. Televangelist Creflo Dollar Arrested in Alleged Choking Attack on Daughter He was booked into the Fayette County Jail, appeared in magistrate court that same morning, and was released after posting a $5,000 bond.5ABC News. Creflo Dollar, Atlanta Megachurch Pastor, Arrested for Battery
Dollar’s Denial From the Pulpit
The next morning, Dollar told his World Changers Church International congregation that “all is well in the Dollar household” and described the incident as “a family conversation with our youngest daughter” that “got emotional.”6Patch. Live Stream: Creflo Dollar’s First Sermon Since Arrest He denied the choking allegations outright, saying his daughter “was not choked, punched” and had “no scratch on her neck.” He said the mark deputies saw was “a prior skin abrasion from eczema.”2Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Creflo Dollar Daughter 911 Tape: Not the First Time
Dollar framed the arrest as a spiritual attack, telling worshippers that “the devil” was trying to “discredit” him. He said that “when the facts come out you will be appalled” and insisted he should never have been arrested.6Patch. Live Stream: Creflo Dollar’s First Sermon Since Arrest
How the Case Was Resolved
The charges were dismissed in January 2013 after Dollar completed a three-month pretrial intervention program in Fayette County State Court.7Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Charge Against Mega Church Pastor Dropped The program required him to enroll in anger management, report to a probation officer, and pay $1,072 in court fees.8CBS News. Assault Charge Filed Against Creflo Dollar, Megachurch Pastor, Is Dismissed
Fayette County State Court Solicitor Jamie K. Inagawa said the program had been used in 128 cases that year. He said Dollar qualified because he had no prior history of similar incidents and because his 15-year-old daughter “didn’t want to see him charged.”7Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Charge Against Mega Church Pastor Dropped Dollar maintained his denial throughout the case. Under the program’s terms, dismissal left him without a conviction.
Other Controversies Around Dollar’s Ministry
The 2012 arrest is one of several episodes that have drawn scrutiny to Dollar over the years.
The Senate Finance Committee Investigation
In November 2007, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, then the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, opened a probe into the finances of six televangelist ministries, Dollar’s included. Grassley cited an “obligation to donors and the taxpayers” and asked for information on executive pay, luxury assets, and spending. World Changers Church International reported $69 million in income for 2006, and Dollar acknowledged that the church supplied him with a Rolls Royce. “Without a doubt, my life is not average,” he said. “But I’d like to say, just because it is excessive doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong.”9Savannah Morning News. Megachurch Releases Last Year’s Finances
Dollar and his wife Taffi declined to answer the committee’s questions.10U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Grassley Releases Review of Tax Issues Raised by Media-Based Ministries The investigation ended in 2011 with no penalties and no definitive findings of wrongdoing. The committee did not enforce subpoenas and instead pointed to self-reform through the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.11NBC News. Senate Probe of Televangelists Finds No Wrongdoing
The $65 Million Jet Campaign
In March 2015, Creflo Dollar Ministries asked 200,000 donors to give $300 each to buy a Gulfstream G650, a jet priced around $65 million. The ministry said the plane would replace a 1984 Gulfstream that had suffered mechanical failures, including one incident in London with Dollar’s family on board.12CNN. Creflo Dollar Jet Response After heavy criticism online, the ministry took down the specific fundraising page, though its general giving page remained.
Dollar pushed back in a video recorded at the church, telling followers that if critics thought a $65 million plane was too much, “I’m gon’ have to believe God for a $1 billion space shuttle because we got to preach the Gospel on Mars.”13BET. Creflo Dollar Blasts Critics of $65 Million Jet Fundraiser He again described the backlash as a work of “the devil.”
Reversal on Tithing
In a June 26, 2022, sermon called “The Great Misunderstanding,” Dollar told his congregation that his earlier teachings on tithing “were not correct” and urged followers to “throw away every book, every tape, and every video I ever did on the subject.”14Premier Christian News. US Pastor Creflo Dollar Tells Congregation to Throw Away His Books and Tapes on Tithing He said the old teaching had been rooted in “fear and guilt” and that New Testament Christians were not bound by Old Testament tithing law.
Reactions were mixed. David Croteau, dean of Columbia Biblical Seminary, credited Dollar’s humility but said a more meaningful response would have included financial restitution to followers who gave under the old doctrine. The Trinity Foundation noted that Dollar still owns two private jets and homes valued at $5.7 million.15Roys Report. Creflo Dollar Renounced Teachings on Tithing; Questions Persist Dollar said he would not formally apologize, describing his earlier ministry as a necessary part of his spiritual journey.