Former Lifeway employee charged with misuse of funds

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP) – An inquiry by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the arrest of a former Lifeway Christian Resources employee who most recently served as the director of Global Ministry.

In May 2025, Lifeway learned of actions by Giancarlo Montemayor and conducted an internal investigation that found “serious violations” of Lifeway’s “financial and ethical policies.” Entity leaders and Lifeway’s board of trustees referred the matter to local law enforcement and are cooperating with the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office.

On Oct. 7, a Williamson County Grand Jury presented an indictment with one count of felony theft, three counts of felony computer offense, 10 counts of forgery, seven counts of computer offense and one count of criminal simulation, according to a statement from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The TBI began its investigation Oct. 12 and eventually reported that the same individual, identified as Giancarlo Trejo, worked “for a company that distributes religious materials.” The evidence presented by investigators stated that he funneled fraudulent contacts to receive referral fees, distributed complimentary Bibles and then asked recipients to send payments to his personal account, and used his company credit card for personal expenses and travel.

On Oct. 20, he was booked into the Williamson County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

Communications from Lifeway to Baptist Press said Montemayor joined Lifeway in September 2018 as manager of Spanish acquisition and production. Starting in 2021, he served at the director level.

“I was shocked, saddened, and disappointed to learn that a trusted leader misappropriated ministry funds for personal gain,” said James Carroll, chairman of Lifeway’s Board of Trustees. “However, I’m grateful for the swift and wise response of our executive leadership to terminate the employee, develop a plan for learning from this situation, and seek counsel from our Board. We have received regular updates throughout the process and participated in the decision-making process in appropriate ways. Finally, we were encouraged to learn of improvements to our internal controls that will help to prevent these types of actions in the future.”

A “comprehensive” review of company travel, expense, and procurement procedures is underway by Lifeway leadership and independent auditors, the statement read.

“While auditors confirmed this was an isolated incident, we are actively implementing recommended updates to our internal controls, including enhanced expense reporting protocols and updated team training, to ensure our processes remain robust,” said Lifeway spokesperson Carol Pipes. 

The TBI statement stipulates that the charges and allegations presented “are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence” and that the defendant is to be presumed innocent throughout due process of the law.

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This article appeared in Baptist Press.