Martinez, Georgia -- The FBI and Columbia County deputies raided a West Lake mansion Wednesday, arresting the leader of the House of Prayer — a group critics call a cult that scams veterans out of benefits.
Columbia County deputies assisted with the raid at 3816 Honors Way, but it’s a Federal Bureau of Investigation case involving allegations of financial or identity theft and fraud.
Authorities on Thursday announced another indictment related to the House of Prayer, a day after the church leader and seven others were rounded up.
The founder of the House of Prayer was taken into custody and booked into jail, but we’re not even sure who the mysterious man really is.
He goes by Rony Denis, but federal authorities say he stole that identity in 1983, so they don’t know his true name.
He’s one of eight House of Prayer leaders indicted in various fraud schemes and tax charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to a federal indictment, the church founder used his stolen identity to become a U.S. citizen in 2002 and went on to establish the church that same year in Baton Rouge, La.
He later moved the headquarters to Hinesville, Ga., and it ultimately opened about a dozen locations in the U.S., mostly near military installations.
Authorities explain the allegations against alleged cult leaders.
Some of those locations, including one at 2952 Old Tobacco Road in Augusta, were raided three years ago by the FBI, which seized boxes full of documents.
Although they have similar names, the House of Prayer has no relation to the United House of Prayer on Wrightsboro Road.
What are the allegations?
Authorities and critics say the church and its affiliate House of Prayer Bible Seminary specifically target military members and veterans in a scheme to get their benefits.
The indictment alleges Denis and his close associates — Anthony Oloans, Joseph Fryar, Dennis Nostrant, Gerard Robertson, David Reip, Marcus Labat and Omar Garcia — used their leadership positions to exert extreme control over congregants.
Authorities say church members were manipulated into turning over personal information, pressured into marriages and divorces arranged by church leaders, and forced to live in properties tied to the defendants that generated rental income.
Church leaders humiliated members for perceived rule violations, kept a list of former members who were labeled as “traitors” and restricted members’ contact with relatives who left the church, authorities said.
Some veteran members were directed to enroll in the seminary with tuition to be paid through GI Bill benefits, authorities said. However, there was little to no instruction, authorities allege, and the veterans’ benefits were exhausted as the money was funneled into church-controlled accounts.
Authorities said defendants also recruited church members to serve as “straw buyers” of real estate, concealing the true buyers’ identities. They falsified VA loan applications and used forged powers of attorney, then leased out these homes, collecting more than $5.2 million in rental income between 2018 and 2020, authorities said. Some of the straw buyers were left with damaged credit and foreclosures, according to authorities.
The church also committed fraud against the government, according to the indictment.
An exemption from the state of Georgia required that the seminary not receive federal funds, but it did receive millions in federal veteran benefits and lied about that, according to authorities.
The indictment also charges Denis with aiding in the preparation and filing of false income tax returns for 2018, 2019 and 2020. According to the indictment, he reported a total income of $165,601 in 2018, $155,408 in 2019, and $247,433 in 2020, despite knowing those figures were false.
What about the estate?
The estate that was raided Wednesday – a nearly 11,000-square-foot home with eight bathrooms and seven bedrooms that was last listed on Zillow for $1.96 million – is owned by a limited-liability partnership known as Union GL Park.
The FBI raided this home at 3816 Honors Way in Martinez, Ga., on Sept. 10, 2025.
Divorce papers in association with that address show the home was occupied by Denis.
Who’s in the indictment?
- “RONY DENIS,” age unknown, of Martinez, Hinesville, and West Palm Beach, Fla.: Charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aiding and assisting in filing a false tax return. Denis is being held in the Jefferson County jail for the U.S. Marshals Service and is supposed to be sent to Augusta on Thursday, according to the jail.
- ANTHONY OLOANS, 54, of Hinesville: Charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud.
- JOSEPH FRYAR, 51, of Hinesville and Martinez: Charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud.
- DENNIS NOSTRANT, 55, of Hinesville: Charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud.
- GERARD ROBERTSON, 57, of Hinesville: Charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
- DAVID REIP, 52, of Hinesville; Charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud.
- MARCUS LABAT, 42, of Hinesville: Charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
- OMAR GARCIA, 40, of Palm Bay, Fla.: Charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
What’s the response?
Jenessa Pappas-Wright says she was a member of the House of Prayer Church in Hinesville. She gave us a window into her reality.
“They went off the King James Bible. Their interpretations were very demonic and evil. They just use it to manipulate and steal from people,” she said.
She says she left the church led by Denis in 2017.
“It’s much, much deeper and scarier than that,” she said.
Pappas-Wright says she saw the defendants preach and work for decades.
“They had given themselves over to him, and they were totally brainwashed,” she said, “Scared to do things because you feel like you might die.”
Pappas-Wright says she took part in the Bible seminary and never received a degree.
“I was in that Bible college for 9 1/2 years, and I was promised a degree. A theology degree, and 9 1/2 years later, I’d never got one,” she said. “I do hope that Denis doesn’t just walk free because he’s an evil, evil man.”
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