A 63-year-old former pastor of Vernon African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Keith Rydell Mayes Sr., has pleaded guilty to diverting more than $504,000 from the historic church, which survived the 1921 Tulsa Race ma§§acre.
Mayes pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion on September 14, 2026, after federal prosecutors established that he misappropriated $504,313.88 between March 2022 and November 2025.
According to prosecutors, Mayes, who became the church’s senior pastor in October 2021, opened a bank account labelled Administrative Expenses shortly after assuming office. He was the sole authorised signatory and allegedly used the account to collect donations without the knowledge of the church’s governing leadership.
One major transaction involved a donor who contributed $365,000 worth of stocks to the church in 2021 and 2022. Mayes reportedly liquidated the shares, deposited the proceeds into a church account and diverted most of the funds for personal use.
