Michalak, of Carmichael, still has his ring from the covenant ceremony. Carmazzi said he lost more than $1 million in his dealings with Cunningham. Carmazzi said he funded several vacations for the Cunningham family, including the trip to Hawaii, while his family vacationed modestly. That group consisted of about five families, said Carmazzi and Matt Michalak, 27, another former member, who were both part of Cunningham's circle. Carmazzi said they were given the gifts in a special covenant ceremony and were allowed into what Cunningham described as his inner circle. "We can't even go outside without being reminded," Plant said.Īccording to former members, those who were obedient to Cunningham were rewarded with jewelry - typically, gold rings for the men, tennis bracelets for the women. "It's like a messy family breakup and a divorced man living next to his ex-wife," said Matt Wanner, 46, who served 15 years as a church elder before leaving.ĭaniel Plant stood in the living room of the 4,200-square-foot, six-bedroom home he paid $785,000 for in 2005. Members paid $500,000 and up for their homes during the height of the real estate boom because, they said, Cunningham told them it would be good for the church community. "We now call it a 'cult de sac,' " said former member James Carmazzi, 48. Many purchased homes in Cunningham's neighborhood and still live there. The dozen former members interviewed by The Bee include middle-class professionals, business owners, college students and church staff. service for about 50 members, he delivered a sermon in a conversational manner about "threats, tests and trials" facing churches today. Cunningham has led the congregation for 17 years. In the deposition, Cunningham said church attendance has dropped significantly in recent years. Radiant Life Church is an independent evangelical congregation that recently moved from Elk Grove to south Sacramento. "It's unusual to file suits because for them it would be like taking God to court," said Jeff Van Vonderen, an author and leading authority on spiritual abuse. Also rare, experts said, are lawsuits by members seeking restitution for money they said they were misled and coerced into giving. "But I don't find that difficult to believe."Įxperts said spiritual abuse complaints are rare but have surfaced in other churches nationally. "I don't recall that," Cunningham said under oath. He was asked about a time when the couple allegedly came to his office with an envelope with $2,000 cash inside. However, in a deposition for the Plant lawsuit obtained by The Bee, Cunningham said he could not remember the gifts the Plants gave over the years. The church's attorney, Talia Delanoy, did not return phone calls. The five members of the church's board of elders declined to speak on the advice of legal counsel, or did not return phone calls. Cunningham did not respond to phone calls. The Bee requested an interview with Cunningham and received an e-mail from the church declining the request, citing pending litigation. The lawsuit reflects other former church members' contentions that Cunningham, 46, abused his position as their spiritual leader, as the lawsuit states, "to give up basic political, social and religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept Cunningham's regimented ideas." They claim Cunningham used his position as their spiritual adviser to defraud them of more than $221,000. Plant and his wife, Callie, 43, who own an Elk Grove mortgage company, filed the suit last year against Cunningham, accusing the pastor of psychological manipulation and forcible indoctrination. "So many families are trying to pick up the pieces." "This has been devastating for us and a lot of people who have been hurt," said Daniel Plant, 45, a former member. They have detailed in interviews how their relationship with a pastor they once revered was fractured. Recently, they have complained, sometimes with hurt and anger, on a Web site devoted to controversial religious movements. Since then, more members have come forward accusing the pastor of abusing his authority as a spiritual leader. On his street, so many bought homes that former church members call it a "cult de sac."Īllegations about Cunningham first came to light in a lawsuit filed by one couple in Sacramento Superior Court. Many purchased upscale homes in the same Elk Grove neighborhood, at his urging, they said. Another said his wife was encouraged to leave him because Cunningham said he was spiritually unfit. One family said it paid for the pastor's family vacation to Maui and a stay at a five-star hotel. The message members of Radiant Life Church said they heard was this: To receive blessings from God, they must honor, submit and give to their pastor, Tony Cunningham.
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