A group of church leaders, described by former members as cult figures, stole $23 million from veterans in a wide-ranging scheme, federal investigators said Wednesday.

The scheme centered around House of Prayer Christian Churches , a group based in Georgia with houses of worship near military bases in five different states, the Justice Department said in a press release.

The church’s leader was known as Rony Denis , but his first and last name are not known, according to the feds. They said he assumed the identity of Rony Denis by stealing it in 1983.

Denis and seven other House of Prayer leaders were accused of bank fraud and wire fraud. According to the feds, they convinced church members to act as “straw buyers” in home purchases, then rent the properties out to earn money for

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