Sean Feucht, a conservative Christian worship leader with connections to Redding, gained attention in 2020 by defying COVID-19 restrictions with protest concerts. His ministry’s revenue soared to $5 million that year, up from from $243,000 the year before. Now, former staff and volunteers accuse him of financial mismanagement, excessive real estate purchases, and mistreatment of workers. Feucht denies these claims, calling the former associates “embittered, upset, angered former volunteers” who had no knowledge of the ministry’s financial situation and “had to be dismissed because of moral issues.” Property records show his ministry has acquired nearly $7 million in real estate since 2020. The records also show Feucht and his wife personally own about $4.5 million in real estate, including a house in Redding. In January, the couple sold a house in Orange County for $1.7 million. Feucht said his ministry has spent money on visits to all 50 state capitals and about 30 other U.S. cities; purchased a tour bus and sound systems for concerts. One of the former associates, Richie Booth of Redding, became a bookkeeper for Burn 24-7 and Light a Candle after he came to Feucht in 2019 as an administrative intern during the worship leader’s unsuccessful bid for Congress. He said he saw irregularities such as the blurring of personal and ministry expenses. Booth said he lacked access to Feucht’s business credit card statements to categorize expenses properly. He also worried employees were not getting paid due wages, including overtime.