Willie E. McKay, who posed as the pastor of Macedonia Pentecostal and transferred title to the property to another church he founded, and then mortgaged the property, has settled the 2008 lawsuit against him.

 of a lawsuit that restores the title and property rights of a church property to its rightful owners, the Macedonia Pentecostal Church in Hamden.

McKay is the grandson of Henry McKay, who founded Macedonia Pentecostal Church in 1963 and who deeded the property at 184 Butler Street to the church in 1965. Macedonia Pentecostal has been in possession of the property and has conducted services and activities there regularly and exclusively since that time.

In 2005, Willie McKay, posing as the pastor of Macedonia Pentecostal, transferred title of the church property to his own church, Love Temple Church of Christ in Prayer, Inc. He then used that property to secure a $1.5 million mortgage that two years later resulted in default.

The Attorney General sued after church members, unaware their church had been mortgaged without their consent, were told by McKay that the church belonged to him and that they would have to leave.

Willie McKay was not the pastor of Macedonia Pentecostal Church, nor was he ever a member of the church. State law prohibits property of a religious society or a corporation from being distributed among its members, or appropriated by any person for private use. McKay has a number of federal and state criminal fraud convictions, but was not charged in this case.

Attorney General George Jepsen announced the settlement.

Jepsen acknowledged the assistance and cooperation of the mortgage company, Foundation Capitol Resources, Inc., in resolving this matter.

"The resolution of this case restores the title and property rights to its rightful owners – the parishioners of Macedonia Pentecostal Church," Jepsen said. "This settlement ensures that the church property will be used as it was intended when it was originally given to the parishioners by the Church’s founder."

Assistant Attorneys General Karen Gano and Kirsten Rigney handled this case for Attorney General Jepsen.