The Sean Feucht lawsuit drawing the most attention was filed in federal court on March 6, 2026, by California generator company founder Steve Bray, who alleges the worship leader and political activist pocketed a $250,000 donation meant to fund stops on the “Let Us Worship — Kingdom to the Capitol Tour.” Bray’s complaint accuses Feucht of fraud and civil theft, and it lands amid a wider set of financial misconduct allegations from former ministry employees, watchdog groups, and investigative reporters.
What the Donor Lawsuit Claims
Bray is the founder and CEO of Power Plus, a California-based generator company. According to his complaint, he gave $250,000 in 2023 believing the money would underwrite at least ten stops on Feucht’s tour. Feucht personally presented Bray with internal financial documents showing each event cost roughly $22,000 to produce, and never suggested any portion of the gift would go toward personal expenses.1The Roys Report. Donor Sues Sean Feucht for Allegedly Misspending $250,000
The suit brings four claims: fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, unfair business practices, and civil theft by false pretenses. Bray’s attorneys say financial records and witness testimony show the money was instead diverted into Feucht’s personal accounts and used to buy real estate. Bray is seeking full restitution of the $250,000, disgorgement of any profits derived from the funds, and punitive damages.2Premier Christian News. Donor Sues Sean Feucht for Allegedly Misspending $250,000
Feucht’s Defense So Far
As of mid-June 2026, Feucht has not litigated the fraud claims on their merits. Instead, he argues Bray lacks standing to sue because the contribution was routed through a donor-advised fund.1The Roys Report. Donor Sues Sean Feucht for Allegedly Misspending $250,000
That argument echoes a defense Bray has run into before. He was one of nine plaintiffs in a separate suit against Dwelling Place Anaheim, a church formerly affiliated with the Vineyard denomination, where a California appeals court ruled in July 2025 that donors lacked standing because they were congregants rather than corporate members under the church’s bylaws.3FindLaw. Wimber v. Scott, G064170 Whether a donor-advised fund similarly shields Feucht from a fraud claim is the central procedural question the federal court will need to resolve.
The Whistleblower Allegations Behind the Suit
The Bray lawsuit did not appear in a vacuum. In September 2024, five former leaders and employees of Feucht’s organizations launched a website, truthandfreedomstories.com, publishing testimonies, financial records, and a formal report accusing Feucht of “longstanding and serious moral, ethical, financial, organizational and governance failures.”4Christianity Today. Sean Feucht Worship Protest Ministry Finance Allegations
Among the group are Christy Gafford, who spent eight years with Feucht’s Burn 24-7 ministry and served as its national director before being fired in May 2024; Peter and Amanda Hartzell, early Burn 24-7 leaders; Liam Bernhard, a former chapter leader; and Richie Booth, a former bookkeeper for Burn 24-7 and the affiliated humanitarian organization Light a Candle.5Associated Press. Worship Leader Sean Feucht Mismanaged Millions in Ministry Funds, Former Associates Say
Their specific accusations include:
- Personal use of ministry credit cards, with Booth saying he was blocked from viewing statements while responsible for the books.
- Merchandise revenue that allegedly went unreported and donations diverted without proper disclosure.
- Underpayment or non-payment of staff, and full-time workers left off tax filings. Bernhard says he spent seven years covering event costs, including paying bands, out of his own pocket.
- Inflated vendor pricing, including Feucht allegedly renting his own Montana cabin back to the ministry for a board meeting.
- Overstated event attendance figures.
- Retaliation against those who raised concerns, including public defamation, exclusion from events, and threats of litigation. Bernhard says Feucht called him “communist,” “fascist,” and “woke” for questioning financial practices.
The whistleblowers have called for Feucht to be removed from all leadership and financial stewardship positions.6MinistryWatch. Sean Feucht Accused of Moral, Ethical, and Financial Failure by Former Leaders
What Ministry Finances and Property Records Show
Sean Feucht Ministries reported $283,526 in revenue in 2019. By 2020, during the pandemic-era “Let Us Worship” tour, that figure jumped to $5.3 million.7ProPublica. Sean Feucht Ministries Inc – Nonprofit Explorer The last publicly available Form 990 showed the ministry spent about $1.1 million on ministry work that year, leaving more than $4 million in assets at year’s end.4Christianity Today. Sean Feucht Worship Protest Ministry Finance Allegations
No Form 990 has been filed since. In 2022, Feucht successfully petitioned the IRS to reclassify Sean Feucht Ministries and Let Us Worship as churches, a designation that removes the annual disclosure requirement. Burn 24/7 has not filed since 2021. The one Feucht-affiliated entity still filing is Light a Candle, which reported $1.1 million in 2022 revenue and lists Feucht as a trustee with a $48,000 salary.4Christianity Today. Sean Feucht Worship Protest Ministry Finance Allegations
An Associated Press investigation of property records found Sean Feucht Ministries has acquired nearly $7 million in real estate since 2020. The purchases include a Capitol Hill row house in Washington, D.C. bought for $967,000 in 2022 and called “Camp Elah”; a $3.45 million property in San Juan Capistrano, California, classified as a “parsonage”; a 40-acre hunting property with a cabin in Montana for $931,010; and 458 acres in Real County, Texas.8Baptist News Global. Where Does Sean Feucht’s Money Come From5Associated Press. Worship Leader Sean Feucht Mismanaged Millions in Ministry Funds, Former Associates Say
Feucht and his wife, Katie, personally own roughly $4.5 million in real estate: a home near Bethel Church in Redding, California; a Dana Point condo bought in April 2025 for $770,000; a Montana property about 15 minutes from the ministry’s hunting ground; and seven Pennsylvania rentals acquired between 2009 and 2023. The couple sold an Orange County home for $1.7 million in January 2025.8Baptist News Global. Where Does Sean Feucht’s Money Come From
The watchdog organization MinistryWatch has given Sean Feucht Ministries an “F” transparency grade and a donor confidence score of 19 out of 100, with a “withhold giving” recommendation. President Warren Cole Smith pointed to the combination of expensive real estate acquisitions and the refusal to file Form 990s as the basis for that assessment.6MinistryWatch. Sean Feucht Accused of Moral, Ethical, and Financial Failure by Former Leaders
Other Regulatory Problems
Feucht’s organizations have run into separate regulatory issues. The D.C. nonprofit status of Sean Feucht Ministries was revoked in 2023 after the organization failed to submit a required filing, according to a spokesperson for the D.C. licensing department. In Canada, Burn Canada Ministries lost its registered charitable status in 2021 for failing to file required documents, then became a project of the British Columbia-based Great Commission Foundation in 2024.9CBC News. Donations to Sean Feucht Groups Via Great Commission Foundation
Federal Election Commission records show Feucht’s 2020 congressional campaign committee made two contributions totaling $22,844 to Burn 24/7 in 2020 and 2021. Because Feucht was simultaneously drawing compensation as Burn 24/7’s president, U.S. regulations prohibited those payments. After regulators flagged the violation, more than half of the money was returned to the campaign.9CBC News. Donations to Sean Feucht Groups Via Great Commission Foundation No state attorney general investigation into the ministry’s finances has been publicly reported as of mid-2026.
A Separate Lawsuit Feucht Filed in Spokane
Search results for “Sean Feucht lawsuit” also turn up an unrelated case in Washington state, so it is worth separating from the donor fraud matter. Feucht sued the city of Spokane and several City Council members over a September 2023 resolution that denounced former Mayor Nadine Woodward for appearing at a rally alongside Feucht and Matt Shea. Feucht argued the resolution violated his rights to free speech and religious exercise.10The Spokesman-Review. Judge Dismisses Christian Nationalist Sean Feucht’s Lawsuit
Superior Court Judge Rachelle Anderson dismissed the case on September 18, 2025, finding that any criticism in the resolution was indirect, aimed at the mayor’s decision to attend the event rather than at Feucht himself, and that the city and council members were shielded by legislative and qualified immunity.11City of Spokane. Statement on Feucht Lawsuit Dismissal Feucht appealed. In May 2026 the Spokane City Council allocated another $50,000 to continue defending the case.12The Spokesman-Review. Spokane Council Approves Another $50,000 to Fight Sean Feucht Lawsuit
Feucht’s Response
Feucht has consistently denied all allegations of financial misconduct. In a June 2025 social media video responding to the Associated Press investigation and the whistleblower report, he stated that “every single penny you have donated has gone to fulfill kingdom-ordained purpose” and that his ministry is “in great standing with the IRS.” He characterized his accusers as “embittered, upset, angered former volunteers” who had been “dismissed because of moral issues.”5Associated Press. Worship Leader Sean Feucht Mismanaged Millions in Ministry Funds, Former Associates Say
He did not respond to the AP’s or Christianity Today’s requests for comment before their reporting was published.4Christianity Today. Sean Feucht Worship Protest Ministry Finance Allegations On the Bray suit, his legal defense so far centers on the donor-advised fund standing argument rather than addressing the underlying fraud allegations.