(RNS) — The Rev. Henry J. Lyons, the onetime leader of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc., who went to prison after a fraud scandal that led to his resignation as president of the historically Black denomination, has died. He was 83.
His death occurred on Monday (Oct. 27), according to a Gainesville, Florida, funeral home.
“We pause to reflect on the distinguished life and faithful service of Dr. Henry J. Lyons, whose leadership and dedication strengthened the witness of our Convention,” reads a Facebook statement from current NBCUSA President Boise Kimber and the denomination’s executive board. “His unwavering commitment to the church and community will be remembered with deep respect and gratitude.”
Lyons was born in Gainesville and studied at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
He was elected president of the denomination in 1994 and resigned in 1999 after he was convicted on state racketeering charges that included the misuse of money intended for burned churches.
State and federal officials began investigating his finances as allegations swirled around him about possible misuse of church funds and marital infidelity after his wife set fire to a pricey home he co-purchased with a woman denominational official.
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He resigned against the wishes of the majority of the denomination’s board at the time.
“I asked them to respectfully allow me to make the decision I felt that, as a man, I needed to make,” Lyons said in tearful remarks weeks before his sentencing. “I fel …