Maine Pastor Defrauds Healthcare System 1

Three and a half years ago, pastor Ron Petersen was ready to provide “recovery services.” He knew it was the right move, because he’d prayed to the Lord, and received a response. An article at the time quoted a godly shepherd/entrepreneur who said he felt blessed:

“One day, I was praying,” said Petersen, as he sat in a back office at the Faith Christian Center on Washington Street in Limerick, where he serves as associate pastor. “Lord, why did you not bless my [previous] efforts? I gave 125 percent. And the Lord said to me, ‘I did bless your efforts,’ and he laid it out in my heart to start my own recovery center.”

That center, the faith-based HOPE Recovery Center, opened at the start of this year in a home next door to the Faith Christian Center to help men facing addiction. HOPE stands for House Of Prayer Eternal.

Limerick center seeks to help men with addiction - Keep Me Current_ News

We can only guess that the Lord subsequently told Petersen to start skimmin’ and stealin’.

From the Portland Press Herald today:

A pastor of a Limerick church has been indicted on a charge of defrauding MaineCare of more than $10,000 for substance abuse treatment services at the Hope Recovery Center, located on the same property as the church.

Ronald Petersen, the associate pastor at Faith Christian Center on Washington Street in Limerick, was indicted by a York County grand jury this week on a single count of theft by deception, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Petersen, 56, is accused of falsely creating the impression that Hope Recovery Center provided substance abuse treatment services to specific individuals between Sept. 1, 2010, and Jan. 30, 2012, according to the indictment.

[photo via keepmecurrent]

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