Pastor who competed on ‘The Voice’ stole identity of church member, Tennessee cops say
A pastor who competed on “The Voice” has been arrested after Tennessee deputies say he stole the identity of a man in his church.
Steven Flockhart, 39, of Atoka, faces charges of identity theft and theft of merchandise, according to Shelby County records.
Three years ago, Flockhart and a member of his church opened a joint credit card for the church, according to an arrest affidavit.
In December 2019, Flockhart called the man and asked for his personal information, which the man gave Flockhart with some hesitation, deputies said.
Recently, the man was notified that his credit score had dropped significantly. He began looking into his credit report, and he found someone had opened a credit card under his name that he didn’t authorize, according to the affidavit.
The card had an unpaid balance of $6,410, the man told deputies, according to the affidavit. Officials did not share what the pastor is accused of spending the money on.
He told investigators when he confronted Flockhart about it, the pastor admitted to having opened it. When the man called the loan holder, it confirmed the phone number on the initial application for the account was Flockhart’s, according to the affidavit.
Flockhart is the lead pastor at 901 Church, in Millington, about 17 miles northeast of Memphis. Flockhart’s bio on the church website says he was heavily involved in the music industry for about 12 years.
“But, in 2012, after briefly appearing on American Idol and then being selected as a contestant on The Voice… God made it clear that he was supposed to walk away from what could have been a very prominent music career, and that he was supposed to Pastor and Lead people to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Flockhart’s bio says.
901 Church shared a statement in defense of Flockhart.
“While we do not find the allegations factual, we believe that vindication from God and stand firm in His sovereignty and truth,” the church said.
Flockhart was booked in Shelby County jail Nov. 2 and posted bond Nov. 3, jail records show. Legal representation for Flockhart is not listed in Shelby County court records.
“Please pray for our pastor and his family, for the hearts of those who seek to attack him and the church, and our community,” 901 Church said.
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