AUGUSTA, Georgia – “Rony Denis,” the founder and leader of House of Prayer Christian Churches, was denied bond at a detention hearing on Friday, September 26, 2025.
Magistrate Judge Brian Epps of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia made the decision to deny bond to the pastor, whose nationwide church organization is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation.
As a result, Denis will remain in the custody of the US Marshals Service pending trial.
The detention hearing for Denis, whose name “Rony Denis” is suspected by federal authorities to be a stolen identity obtained in 1983, lasted nearly three hours Friday, ending after 2 p.m.
There were nine exhibits presented to the bench Friday morning by both government prosecutors and Denis’ legal team.
Denis’ detention hearing was held independently of the other church leaders charged in the federal case.
Six defendants in the federal criminal investigation into alleged criminal activity by the leadership of the House of Prayer Christian Churches were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Epps earlier this week at the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown Augusta. Those leaders were granted bond, but there were certain restrictions that had to be followed as a condition of their release, such as avoiding communication and contact with other church members and their families.
Defendants in court on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, included Omar Garcia, Marcus Labat, David Reip, Gerard Robertson, Dennis Nostrant, and Joseph Fryar.
They have all been charged with various alleged fraud schemes and are also facing tax charges. Five of the defendants in court earlier this week were from the Hinesville, Georgia area. The other defendant, Omar Garcia, 40, is a resident of Pam Bay, Florida, and is charged with Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.
Denis owned a home in Martinez, Georgia, where he was apprehended during a raid in September. He also owned homes in Hinesville and Palm Beach.
Investigators are still trying to learn more about Denis’ true identity and background. He first became a US citizen in 2002.
