4 Las Vegas preachers plead guilty to stealing tax dollars, lying about criminal records

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Four pastors admitted to bilking taxpayers out of more than a million dollars combined, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. Two of them – a former husband and wife – avoided prison time while two others, currently married, await sentencing and face prison time.

The two pastors who avoided prison time were involved in a scheme to steal taxpayer dollars and were sentenced to five years of probation after they agreed to plea deals with federal prosecutors in exchange for lighter sentences, court documents show. Gregory and Carol Kirby, once married to each other, admitted to lying on applications to become medical providers for Medicaid, and submitting fraudulent medical claims, according to court documents.

U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware sentenced Gregory Kirby on Jan. 17. Kirby pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States last April, according to court documents. A plea agreement refers to healthcare fraud from July 2014 to February 2018 to get payments from Medicaid.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon sentenced Carol Kirby on July 31 after she pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Both Carol and Gregory Kirby were ordered to pay nearly $373,000 in restitution to Nevada Medicaid. The former couple avoided prison time as the charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, along with three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution.

Gregory Kirby admitted to lying on an application to enroll his behavioral health care company, Esperanza Family Counseling Services, LLC, as a medical provider with Medicaid. Court documents say he omitted his criminal convictions, including a 1986 misdemeanor for tampering with a vehicle and a 1988 felony for possession of cocaine, the plea agreement states. Gregory Kirby also admitted to submitting false Medicaid claims in order to receive payment for services that were never provided, according to the agreement. Gregory Kirby also admitted to using more than $785,000 in illegal proceeds to purchase five properties including two in Decatur, Illinois, as well as in Las Vegas, Pahrump and Laughlin, Nevada, the agreement states. Kirby agreed to forfeit more than $388,000 from his bank accounts, along with all five properties.

According to a review of social media postings, Gregory Kirby appears to run Come Unto Me Ministries in Decatur, Illinois, as “Apostle Kirby,” with his new wife, “Elect Lady Kirby.”

In a written letter to Boulware prior to the sentencing, Gregory Kirby asked for forgiveness and mercy.

“I have accepted responsibility for my wrongdoing and doing as you can see have never denied the allegations against me,” Gregory Kirby wrote in the Jan. 13 letter. “I made wrong decisions that have put me before the court and I deserve to be punished.”

Gregory Kirby claimed he was asking for probation not for himself, but for his 11 and 12-year-old sons. His adult children, he says, were “lost in the system” during his addiction and prison time, but they are doing well now.

Carol Kirby also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. She admitted to lying on the application to enroll her behavioral health care companies Apostolic Behavioral Health and Henderson Family Services as medical providers with Medicaid by omitting Gregory Kirby’s convictions as he was listed as the resident agent of one business and the director of the other, the plea agreement states. Carol Kirby submitted a false claim to Medicaid for services that were not provided and used more than $158,000 in illegal proceeds to assist in the purchase of a property in Pahrump, Nevada, according to the plea agreement. Carol Kirby agreed to forfeit nearly $12,000 in cash seized from bank accounts and the same five properties as Gregory Kirby.

The other two Pastors Regina and Joe Brice, currently married to each other, were also charged in the scheme.

Regina Brice pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud. Regina Brice admitted to executing a scheme and plan to defraud Nevada Medicaid between October 2016 and February 2018, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. Regina Brice, according to a plea agreement, omitted her five prior misdemeanor convictions including possession of drug paraphernalia in 1996 and 1997, theft in 1999, and battery and charge for “non-sufficient funds check” in 2009.

That enabled her to enroll Above and Beyond Behavioral Services as a medical provider with Nevada Medicaid and then submit bills for Nevada Medicaid for services not rendered, according to the plea agreement. Regina Brice used $248,000 in illegal proceeds she received from Medicaid to purchase a property in Las Vegas in 2017. Brice agreed to forfeit nearly $527,000 of stolen taxpayer dollars which were seized, documents state.

‘I’m a woman of God’ Las Vegas pastors accused of stealing over $1 million from healthcare system

Regina Brice is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 28. The maximum sentence she faces is 10 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release along with a fine. The plea agreement states that attorneys believe the applicable amount of restitution is more than $1.1 million.

Regina and Joe Brice agreed to an interview with the 8 News Now Investigators in 2020.

“We didn’t do what we’re accused of doing at all,” Regina Brice insisted.

When asked whether they were concerned they could be sent to prison, Regina Brice responded, “It’s not gonna happen. We’re not concerned at all. We serve a righteous God.”

Joe Brice pleaded guilty to monetary transactions in criminal-derived property. Joe Brice admitted to devising a scheme to defraud Nevada Medicaid between March 2017 and February 2018, according to a plea agreement. Brice did not disclose his previous convictions on his application to enroll Chances Behavioral Health Services, LLC, as a medical provider. Brice’s criminal record includes 1984 and 1985 felony burglary convictions, two misdemeanor convictions in 2008 for possession of drugs not to be introduced into interstate commerce, and a 2011 misdemeanor conviction for attempt carry a concealed weapon without a permit, the plea agreement states.

Joe Brice also submitted fraudulent claims for services never rendered, according to the agreement. Federal prosecutors said he used stolen taxpayer dollars to purchase a North Las Vegas property and three Peterbilt trucks.

Joe Brice agreed to forfeit nearly $90,000 and the three Peterbilt trucks.

Joe Brice is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 18. The maximum sentence Brice faces is 10 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release along with a fine. The plea agreement states that attorneys believe the applicable amount of restitution is more than $392,000.

The 8 News Now Investigators first reported on the healthcare fraud investigation in Feb. 2018. Federal investigators searched businesses affiliated with the four pastors. The 8 News Now Investigators uncovered that the defendants were linked to more than 20 business entities. During a sermon at God’s House International, a church headed by Gregory and Carol Kirby, Gregory Kirby told church members they should donate money.

“The enemy went after the money. We used to do almost everything,” he said. “We took care of everybody. So now that it’s been seized, it’s your responsibility. It’s time for you to give. It’s time for you to dig deeper now.”

The 8 News Now Investigators have learned a defendant named Carol Kirby is accused in another alleged scheme. A grand jury in Maricopa County, Arizona, indicted Kirby for 20 felony charges including 16 counts of theft, and one count of conspiracy, illegal control of an enterprise, illegally conducting an enterprise, and fraudulent schemes and artifices. Kirby, also known as Carol Ann Copeland, and two other women, Shawnjerria Nishallen Lucas, and Lavita Rene Verser, ran A Better You Wellness Center, LLC, between December 2021 and February 2023 and submitted fraudulent claims to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System to collect payments, according to the Oct. 2, 2023 indictment. A trial is scheduled for May 8.

To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@8newsnow.com.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.