Church spent $2 million on cruises, Louis Vuitton gifts, NBA games, lawsuit claims
Lawsuit over alleged misuse of charitable funds
The Minnesota Attorney General is suing two Minneapolis nonprofits over alleged misuse of charitable funds. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has more.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit against a church and nonprofit dance studio that is accused of misusing more than $2 million on luxury items including Louis Vuitton purchases, vacation rentals, celebrity cruises, and NBA games.
Charity accused of misusing $2M
What we know:
The Minnesota Attorney General's Office announced on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit against Real Believers Faith Center, Les Jolies School of Dance, and their founders, Sharon and Larry Cook.
Ellison says the Cooks used their nonprofits to fund a lavish lifestyle, misusing more than $2 million in funds that were supposed to go towards helping their community.
The lawsuit also names five other individuals associated with the nonprofits: Danyale Potts, Emily Neuhaus, Risheka Remus, Makada Williams, and Sunsearay Washington. All five are directors and officers with Les Jolies and/or Real Believers.
What they're saying:
The Cooks sent FOX 9 this statement calling the allegations false and say they plan to file a defense.
"With an almost 30-year outstanding record of service to the community, the ministries of RBFC and LJP have stood the test of time—through trials, tribulations, and hardships—while continuing to provide a stable place of worship and artistic freedom. For over 40 years, Bishop Larry and Dr. Sharon Cook Ministries have been a pillar of strength in the City of Minneapolis, remaining rooted in the community while accomplishing tremendous Kingdom and artistic work on a global scale.
We intend to demonstrate in court that the allegations brought forth by the office of Keith Ellison are without foundation, not based in facts, and amount to complete fiction and brutal lies. These claims represent an overreach and abuse of power. They are rooted in an incompetent investigation conducted without due diligence and marked by incendiary negligence. The brazen accusations and far-reaching assertions are slanderous, forming a vicious attack clearly meant to cause harm and to do irreparable damage to a ministry that has faithfully served its community for decades."
Breakdown
By the numbers:
Ellison says the money went towards a number of different luxury items, including vacation rentals, Louis Vuitton purchases, celebrity cruise, NBA tickets and more.
The lawsuit includes a breakdown of the alleged inappropriate expenses:
- Amazon/Target/Walmart: $15,762.60
- Auto - Repairs/Car wash: $54,208.72
- Cash withdrawals from bank and ATM: $278,710.26
- Clothing: $36,069.70
- Credit Card Payments - Personal: $50,985.31
- Gift Cards: $2,318.12
- Guns: $3,045.79
- Home Depot: $113,848.21
- Jewelry: $3,742.00
- Les Jolies Petites Expenses: $26,179.39
- Lions Den Pride Covenant⁴: $29,171.10
- Movies/Netflix: $4,412.61
- Payments ACI Financial: $24,478.00
- Personal- Ins, HOA, home, car, misc.: $191,722.26
- Personal-Gymnastics coaching: $7,189.86
- RBFC Poppy Construction: $8,128.00
- Restaurants: $71,341.54
- Shoes: $2,783.99
- Spa/Nails/Beauty supplies: $6,672.54
- Storage Units: $19,434.86
- Tele Transfer to unknown bank account: $31,550.00
- Travel: $169,462.03
- World Class Barber - Supplies: $2,732.70
- CashApp - Cook Family: $81,577.76
- CashApp - Sharon & Larry Cook: $49,860.00
- Zelle - Cook Family: $6,784.77
- Zelle - Sharon & Larry Cook: $18,051.75
Gas station takeover
The backstory:
In 2022, Real Believers Faith Center made headlines when they made a push to buy the Marathon gas station along West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis. The gas station was in a troubled area and the hope was the church would be able to buy the gas station and transform the area.
The lawsuit reveals that despite throwing a "new management" celebration in November 2022, the Cooks never owned the gas station. Instead, Larry Cook entered into an agreement to lease the gas station for a $70,000 upfront fee and $6,000. However, it's unclear how much Cook actually paid as records only show a $13,500.
When questioned about the gas station, the lawsuit says Larry Cook invoked his 5th Amendment rights to avoid incriminating himself.
Local perspective:
The lawsuit also claims that the Cooks took out multiple loans against property owned by its nonprofits, including the dance studio, the church building and a house owned by the church. The AG says those loans served no benefit to the nonprofit.
On top of that, the lawsuit alleges that the Cooks engaged in tax fraud, allegedly taking millions of dollars from the nonprofits that they failed to report on their W-2 forms. Between 2017 and 2023, the lawsuit states that the Cooks only reportedly had wages exceeding $30,000 for one year.
Dig deeper:
Finally, in March 2025, the attorney general claims that Sharon Cook improperly filed to dissolve the dance studio without notifying the attorney general's office, as the AG's investigation was underway.