John Gray, megachurch respond to SC lawsuit with new accusations about Ron Carpenter
In back-and-forth legal claims all relating to the transfer of a megachurch property from one well-known preacher to another, John Gray says Rob Carpenter broke their contract in a court filing in South Carolina.
Carpenter’s Redemption Church agreed to sell a megachurch property to Gray so he could start his own church, but now several lawsuits have been filed and Carpenter is trying to evict Gray and the Relentless Church from the Greenville campus.
Gray has attracted media attention and criticism since moving to Greenville in 2018 to take over the church, including buying his wife a $200,000 Lamborghini for an anniversary present and appearing at the White House with President Donald Trump. He was also praised for giving cash from church tithes to single mothers and veterans.
Gray also had his own reality television show on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
The new accusations come in a counterclaim from another lawsuit filed by Relentless Church’s former chief operating officer and chief financial officer Travis Hayes over unpaid wages.
Hayes worked for Carpenter’s church for two decades before staying in Greenville to work with John Gray when Carpenter moved his church to California in 2018, according to court filings. Hayes quit his job with John Gray last year and claims he has not been paid everything he was promised in his employment contract.
Gray shot back in his counterclaim to the January lawsuit, saying this week that Hayes set up his own salary and benefits without permission. The lawsuit says the former CFO had the church pay for his mortgage, landscaping and car payments, while also still giving himself a $20,000 a year housing allowance without permission from Gray or the church board.
Gray accused Hayes of conspiring with Carpenter, who still owned the megachurch property. The lawsuit gives new details from Gray’s side in an ongoing dispute with Redemption Church, which is trying to evict Gray and Relentless for not paying on a lease agreement.
The countersuit claims Carpenter originally said Gray and his new church could buy the campus. But there was a $4-million loan against the property and The International Pentecostal Holiness Church, which lent the money, killed the deal, according to court filings.
Gray agreed to sign a lease instead of buying the property, the filing said. Relentless church was paying $18,000 a month in rent, but then, Gray claims, Carpenter borrowed more money and raised the lease payments to $70,000.
In a statement, Gray and Relentless said, “Hayes provided confidential information to Redemption; often signed unauthorized contracts for both Relentless and Redemption churches while employed by The Relentless Church; and agreed to a 133-percent rent increase for The Imagine Center under the authority of Ron Carpenter and against the advisement of The Relentless Church attorneys, without a new lease in place.
Redemption and Carpenter sued to evict Gray and his church earlier this month. Carpenter is still pursuing the eviction, saying Gray and Relentless agreed to pay the lease.
