South Carolina megachurch faces more legal woes, this time over unpaid wages
Adding to accusations of financial woes at John Gray’s megachurch in South Carolina is a new lawsuit from a church leader over unpaid wages.
Travis Hayes, a former chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Relentless Church, sued the church and Gray, accusing them of not paying him about $75,000 he was owed when he quit, according to the lawsuit filed in Greenville County.
Hayes resigned from the church in December “based on his observation of certain going-ons at Relentless which caused him material ethical and business concern,” according to the lawsuit.
Relentless spokeswoman Heather Montgomery told McClatchy News on Thursday the church had no comment on the pending lawsuit.
Gray and Relentless are already facing eviction from the megachurch campus for allegedly not paying on the mortgage for the large property, which they took over from The Redemption Church. Gray trained under televangelist Joel Olsteen before starting his own church in South Carolina in 2018.
Gray has attracted headlines since his move by visiting with President Donald Trump in the White House and buying his wife a $200,000 Lamborghini. He later admitted to having an “emotional affair” before he bought the car.
Gray and his wife Aventer have a reality television show on the Oprah Winfrey Network, but it will not be renewed for a fourth season, the Greenville News reports.
Hayes had worked as the chief financial officer for The Redemption Church and stayed on after Gray took over the congregation. He said Gray promised to increase his $200,000 salary by $25,000, according to the court filing.
After Hayes resigned, Gray sent him a letter saying he was actually fired the day before for violating a confidentiality agreement, the lawsuit says.
Hayes said the church owes him about $75,000 for unpaid wages and to cash out his unused vacation time.
