By Philip Phi
Posted Aug 31, 2026 at 4:51 PM
A former pastor from North Carolina, Devin Carroll, is currently facing multiple felony embezzlement charges after being accused of diverting over $43,000 from Happy Home Church in Nakina. The funds were allegedly used to cover loan payments and personal expenses, including nearly $1,000 on retail and restaurant purchases. Carroll, 23, was arrested on August 26 and remains in the Columbus County jail with a bond set at $75,000. His next court hearing is scheduled for September 17.
In addition to these financial allegations, Carroll is also facing serious criminal charges unrelated to the embezzlement. In July 2025, he was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. According to reports from My Horry News, Carroll was accused of inappropriate contact with a 13-year-old girl at Conway Middle School in Conway, South Carolina, in May 2025.
Before these incidents, Carroll served as a pastor at Happy Home Church, a position he took on in May 2024. The church, which is now defunct, was located about 40 miles north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. An archived version of the church’s website noted that Carroll had been preaching since he was 16 years old.
The unfolding of these events highlights the importance of accountability and justice within religious communities, echoing the biblical call for righteousness and care for the vulnerable, as seen in Micah 6:8. As these legal proceedings continue, the community is reminded of the need for transparency and the protection of those who may be harmed.
Source: Read the original report
Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
