Woman Sentenced For Targeting Church Members In Fraud Scheme

The first of three people that duped Alexandria churchgoers out of $2 million was sentenced Friday in federal court. Grenetta Wells, 48, who assisted an Alexandria pastor and his wife in the scheme, will serve two and a half years in prison. Terry Millender, the former pastor of Victorious Life Church in Alexandria, and his wife Brenda were convicted in December and await sentencing.

Wells was the Chief Operating Officer of Micro-Enterprise Management Group, a company that falsely said it gave short-term loans to businesses in developing countries. The three co-conspirators lured investors at Victorious Life Church by highlighting the company's Christian mission of helping the poor and guaranteeing returns on the investments. In addition, Wells helped victims set up retirement accounts to use their savings to fund the investments.

According to prosecutors, Wells and the Millenders used some of the money for risky trading on the foreign exchange currency market and day trading. The pastor and his wife also bought a $1.75 million house and other personal expenses.

The Millenders got more than $600,000 from an additional scheme called Kingdom Commodities Unlimited, which brokered Nigerian oil deals. This money went toward rent, golf trips and other personal expenses.

Along with serving the prison sentence, Wells will pay $1.3 million in restitution to victims of the scheme. The Millenders face up to 20 years in prison when they are sentenced. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

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