FBI investigating church, pastor

December 12, 1997

Mequon -- The FBI is investigating Rhema Worship Center Inc. and its leader, the Rev. Chuckie Burris, who left the state abruptly this fall after closing the church, an official said Thursday.

Wire fraud, money laundering and theft are among several violations the bureau is investigating, FBI Special Agent Barry Babler said.

"We're looking at it because of the amount of money involved," Babler said. "There appears to be a substantial amount in this case."

Babler stressed that no wrongdoing on Burris' part has been proved and that agents are still collecting facts.

Several attempts to reach Burris by phone and mail at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., have not been successful.

A pager for another church official has been disconnected.

Babler said the FBI agents also had not contacted Burris.

News of the investigation comes after three Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stories detailing Burris' lavish spending and aggressive fund-raising at the Mequon congregation.

The paper has reported that Burris raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the church in recent years, including $600,000 during 1996, according to former church members with knowledge of Rhema's finances.

Burris tapped church accounts this fall for $100,000 in an attempt to buy a $500,000 home in Arizona, according to records obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

Records also show he purchased several luxury cars.

Burris and his wife are listed as the owners of the six-bedroom house in an exclusive, gated community in Scottsdale, a Phoenix suburb.

The apparent use of church funds to buy a house in Scottsdale was of particular concern to investigators, said a former church member who recently met with agents from the FBI and Internal Revenue Service.

"They're looking for anybody and everybody who knows him," the churchgoer said.

Babler urged anybody who thinks that they have suffered a financial loss related to Rhema Worship Center to contact the FBI.

"We do need to have complainants or witnesses," Babler said.

The FBI isn't alone in looking for Burris.

Last week, Firstar Bank Milwaukee began foreclosure proceedings against the Rhema Worship Center, 2415 W. Mequon Road. The bank contends that Burris, who as president of Rhema signed for two different loans, has failed to meet his monthly payments.

Rhema owes the bank more than $192,000, according to papers filed in Ozaukee County Circuit Court.

Another local vendor to the church said Thursday that his company had been attempting to collect on bills owed to them by Burris for several weeks.

The vendor, who also asked not to be named, said he had recently contacted Phoebe Humphries, a member of Rhema's board of directors, at the Ramada Valley Ho Resort in Scottsdale where Burris had been conducting services.

"She told me they were having some difficulties down there but that she would call me when they were ready to send the check," the vendor said. "I haven't heard from her since."

A Ramada representative said Thursday that Rhema no longer holds services there.

The story of Rhema Worship Center began unfolding this fall after Burris put the church up for sale before informing his congregation, former church members say.

He sold his family's house in Brown Deer in October.

Burris is known for his penchant for luxury autos; he had registered to himself or the church a 1992 Rolls-Royce as well as a 1996 Porsche 911 and a Land Rover.

He began offering services from rented spaces in Milwaukee before moving the congregation to Mequon in 1996. The enthusiastic preacher appeared regularly on local television and has also purchased time on the CBS affiliate in Phoenix for his "Word of Faith" ministry.

An advertisement on television in Phoenix invited people to join Burris and his wife in a "life-changing ministry."

Burris, 40, encouraged about 20 people from his congregation to join him in Arizona, according to relatives and former church members.