Henry J. Lyons (born 1942) is a former president of the
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA or NBC), is a primarily African American Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is headquartered at the Baptist World Cen ...
who was indicted by federal prosecutors in 1998 for fraud, extortion, money laundering, conspiracy and tax evasion.
Early life
Lyons was raised by his grandfather, a
Deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
named Booker T. Lyons. His own father, who was only 16 when Henry was born, played a minimal role in his childhood. He attended
Gibbs Junior College
Gibbs Junior College was created in 1957 by the Pinellas County Board of Public Instruction to serve African-American students in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was the first and most successful of Florida's eleven new African-American junior colleg ...
in
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
(1960–62) and studied at
Bethune-Cookman College in
Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...
(1962–64) and then entered the
Interdenominational Theological Center
The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest f ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
In 1970, he moved to
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and in 1972 he gained a more important position in
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
. He married Deborah Lyons in the 1970s. In 1977 he became Vice President of the Florida General Baptist Convention, and was then its President from 1981 to 1994. In 1994, Lyons became President of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc.
Presidency of the National Baptist Convention
Always a charismatic speaker, the Lyons tenure featured much activity. He established a Unified Program, reduced the debt on the Baptist World Center, and dissolved the debt on the Sunday School Publishing Board. In addition, many commissions were added to the convention. He pledged to "raise a standard" and overcome the difficulties caused by his predecessor
T. J. Jemison
Theodore Judson Jemison (August 1, 1918 – November 15, 2013), better known as T. J. Jemison, was the president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. from 1982 to 1994. It is the largest African American, African-American religious organ ...
's support of
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
in his rape case. However, in many respects he would exacerbate, rather than diminish, the difficulties of the organization.
Personal and legal difficulties
In February 1998 he was charged with one count of
racketeering
Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit.
Originally and of ...
and two counts of
grand theft
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
, and in summer 1998 he was indicted by federal prosecutors for
fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
,
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
,
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
,
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
and
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...
.
[Imprisoned Minister Lyons and Wife Divorcing](_blank)
Beliefnet.com
Beliefnet is a lifestyle website featuring editorial content related to the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news, and entertainment.
History
Launched in 1999 by Steven Waldman and Robert Nylen, Beliefnet ...
[Rev. Henry Lyons denies having an affair or misusing church funds - president of the National Baptist Convention USA , Jet , Find Articles at BNET.com](_blank)
/ref> He initially protested his innocence and claimed there was a racial motivation for the charges, but the proceedings of his trial and his eventual plea bargain
A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
ing agreement dampened the enthusiasm of those who maintained his innocence. In 1999 Lyons was sentenced to a total of five and a half years in jail for misappropriating more than $4 million from the NBC while he was its President, a post from which he had already resigned.
In November 2003, he was released on probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
and returned to preaching in St Petersburg. He currently is the pastor of the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
.
On June 15, 2017 Lyons was forced out of his position by the board of trustees, mid accusations of theft, misconduct.
In April 2007 Lyons was defeated in an attempt to be re-elected President of the Florida General Baptist Convention. Subsequently, he and his supporters organized the General Baptist State Convention of Florida, of which he is the President. In 2009, he was defeated in his bid to take presidency of the National Baptist Convention, USA.Ousted Baptist Leader Loses Bid
''New York Times'', 2009/09/11
References
External links
National Baptist Convention USA history page*
ttp://www.sptimes.com/lyons_special/ SPTimes special article on the Lyons casebr>
Court TV on his trialCNN article on his release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Henry
1942 births
Living people
People from Volusia County, Florida
Clergy of historically African-American Christian denominations
American money launderers
National Baptist Convention, USA ministers
Protestant religious leaders convicted of crimes
Members of the clergy convicted of fraud
American members of the clergy convicted of crimes
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people