A Grand Jury has accused pastor Terrance “Tony” Elliott of Crestline of defrauding victims for a total of $230,000.
Elliott pleaded not guilty on March 7.
Elliott is the pastor of a San Bernardino church. The complaint did not name the church. SFGate reported the now-deleted Facebook page for The Ship of Zion identified Elliott as its pastor. He served on the San Bernardino Public Safety and Human Relations Commission, and he is a chaplain with the San Bernardino Police Department.
Prosecutors allege Elliot defrauded elderly victims of money, and directed the money to his church.
One review on The Ship of Zion’s Google Maps accuses Elliott of fraud.
“I was a member/musician at this church for several years. Unfortunately, Pastor Elliot (sic) is less than honorable when it comes to money. He stole over $8k from my credit card using the churches square and has refused to repay me,” the review from Christopher Pickering Sr. reads.
Ten of the 11 fraud counts are in relation to Elliott’s alleged management of a family trust. The trust was explicitly to manage a woman’s living expenses and funeral expenses. The remaining property would go to her children.
Elliott submitted a fraudulent document to the woman’s bank alleging he was the sole trustee having power to make payments, the complaint claims.
He withdrew $114,000 from the account to pay for his church’s rent, the repair of his truck, Nike sneakers, a piano and a motorcycle warranty, the complaint claims.
He then tricked the deceased woman’s family member to pay $8,600 in funeral costs, the complaint claims.
Elliott also used the trust account to defraud another victim, W.H., out of $65,000 through a personal loan, the complaint alleges. W.H. had called Elliott for advice on selling a house. Elliott advised W.H. he could avoid a capital gains tax by loaning the trust $65,000. W.H. gave Elliott multiple signed blank checks. Elliott transferred $16,000 to his church and $49,000 to the trust—but never repaid any of the loan, the complaint alleges.
Instead, Elliott is accused of convincing a nonprofit that it owed money to W.H.’s company for services rendered related to a lawsuit. Elliott cashed 32 checks to W.H. totaling $23,300.
Case No. 5:25-cr-00045
Read the indictment here.
