CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A well-known Charlotte pastor said con artists are using his name to try and steal money.
The Rev. John P. Kee said this isn't the first time this has happened.
He's sold millions of albums, won countless awards, and someone is apparently trying to profit off his success, he said.
Kee, the pastor at New Life Fellowship Center, took to social media to warn his members and nearly 250,000 Facebook followers that a scam artist is posing as him, asking people to send thousands in cash.
"Some of the partakers and members of the church had contacted me about him, asking them for them to befriend them, and he needed money for an orphanage," Kee said.
On his Facebook post, Kee said the scammer's ploy is to get people to mail their offerings all the way to South Africa.
Someone from outside the U.S contacted him, asking if the scam was real.
"We had a call from Switzerland that said he was contacted over there," Kee said.
Church officials told Channel 9 many other famous ministers across the country have also been targeted, but Kee said he wants to make sure everyone is clear.
"I don't take a salary as a pastor, so I'm never soliciting funds so that alone let's people know that can't be the real John P. Kee," he said.
Kee isn't sure if anyone has actually fallen victim to the scam.
Kee was targeted several years ago, he believes, by the same person.
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