Trinity Family Church pastor Richard Dent said he made a "mistake" and asked God to forgive him after a conviction on an embezzlement charge Tuesday.
Dent faces up to 20 years in prison.
He could get into even more trouble if he doesn't pay back the more than $63,000 prosecutors say he owes the victim in this case, a 92-year-old woman he claims is his "auntie."
The judge took three additional charges "under advisement," meaning as long as Dent pays the money back he owes, it could keep him from facing even more time in jail or prison.
Dent declined to say anything on the record at his church Wednesday.
He said he asked God to forgive him for a mistake, and he felt the Lord had done so.
Dent said he had plan to pay off what he owes.
Prosecutors accuse him of using the life savings of a now 92-year-old woman for his own benefit, going on shopping sprees at Home Depot and Wal-Mart, ordering pizzas, and even buying more than $1,500 in sound equipment for his church.
Dent was convicted for depositing more than $70,000 from the woman's savings account into her dead sister's estate account.
At one time Dent had a signed power of attorney over both accounts, but family members yanked that power a few weeks later.
Investigators got involved after money kept disappearing from the accounts, according to court documents.
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