Centennial — The Rev. Acen Phillips, charged with multiple theft and forgery counts, made his initial court appearance today in Arapahoe County District Court.
Prosecutors for the state attorney general’s office say Phillips forged the signatures of at least five people, some of whom had died, and then backdated the documents to make his church and charitable organizations the beneficiary of their life insurance policies.
Attorney General John Suthers filed seven counts of theft and five counts of forgery against Phillips in August, and said there were others who said they were duped by the reverend.
Phillips is accused of stealing or attempting to steal more than $575,000 between July 2005 and May 2006. He faces up to 81 years in prison and $5 million in fines.
Attorney Gary Lozow, who has represented Phillips in the past, appeared today with Phillips, but had said Phillips had not yet raised enough money to secure his services in this case.
Judge Anne Ollada set a court date for Oct. 16, at which time Phillips’ legal representation will be determined.
She also ordered Phillips today to be fingerprinted within ten days. He was not arrested in the case, but instead was responding to a summons.
Several family members and friends accompanied Phillips to the hearing today, including community activist Alvertis Simmons.
“We just hope and pray that the victims are taken care of and that the Rev. Phillips is treated fairly,” Simmons said.
“These are some serious charges. I hope that what they say happened to those people didn’t happen.”
One theft and forgery charge involves Shelley Lowe. She was the girlfriend of Aaron Thompson, who has been indicted in the death of his daughter, Aaroné, reported missing in November 2005. Lowe died in 2006 from a heart attack.
Sam Riddle, who was a spokesman for the family after the girl’s disappearance, never believed Lowe had taken a life insurance policy on herself naming Phillips or his church as a beneficiary.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
