A former pastor of Happy Home Baptist Church in Nakina is now facing 16 felony counts of embezzlement, with authorities alleging he siphoned off nearly $58,000 from the small Columbus County congregation. Devin Cyrus Carroll, who led the rural Southern Baptist church from May 2024 until July 2025, was already sitting in legal jeopardy in South Carolina on a charge of third-degree sexual conduct with a minor when the expanded financial charges surfaced this week.
The updated charge count and dollar figure, reported by WWAY TV, mark a significant development in the case. The earlier report, first detailed by Columbus County News, provided additional details about the allegations against Carroll. The reporting does not specify how the 16-count total was reached.
According to the original warrants cited by Columbus County News, Carroll made a series of payments ranging from $2,900 to $9,900, with most of the embezzled money allegedly funneled to Advance America mortgage company. Investigators also detailed smaller, more mundane alleged thefts — amounts of $134, $188 and $653 said to have covered miscellaneous items. Carroll resides at 428 Royal Arch Dr. in Conway, South Carolina, per that reporting.
A Church Scrubbed Its Website After the Arrest
Happy Home Baptist Church sits at 2670 Happy Home Road in Nakina, a rural stretch of Columbus County near the South Carolina line, according to Columbus County News. After Carroll's arrest in July 2025, the church deactivated large portions of its official website, pulling down staff bio, announcement, and ministry pages, as reported by the Biblical Recorder. Archived versions of those pages had confirmed Carroll served as pastor there beginning in May 2024, the outlet noted.
Carroll's legal troubles first became public in South Carolina. Horry County jail records show he was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway on July 5, 2025, on one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, per the same account. Conway police say the victim and the victim's parents contacted them on May 29, 2025, to report the assault, which allegedly occurred at school and involved Carroll touching a 13-year-old victim in the privates, according to the warrants cited by Columbus County News.
A School Resignation That Predates the Arrest
Before his arrest, Carroll worked at Conway Middle School as an in-school suspension supervisor. Horry County Schools administrative records show he submitted his resignation from that position on January 7, 2025, with an effective date of June 7, 2025 — after police say the alleged victim's family came forward on May 29 and before his July 2025 booking, the Biblical Recorder reported. The timing gap between his resignation and his arrest leaves an open question about exactly when school officials or police first learned of the allegations relative to his departure.
Carroll's $75,000 secured bond was associated with the embezzlement case, while he was later released on a $30,000 secured bond in the sexual-conduct case, according to Columbus County News. That case remains pending trial. The charge remains part of the pending case.
Embezzlement Charges Carry Their Own Statutory Weight
North Carolina treats embezzlement from churches and charitable organizations as a distinct category of crime. Under N.C.G.S. § 14-93, the state maintains a specific statute targeting embezzlement by treasurers, officers, and fiduciaries of churches and religious organizations, separating it from ordinary workplace theft, according to information compiled by Charlotte Criminal Defense Lawyers. More broadly, North Carolina General Statute § 14-90 classifies embezzlement of property valued under $100,000 as a Class H felony, carrying a maximum sentence of up to 39 months in state prison per count upon conviction, per the UNC School of Government.
Carroll faces felony prosecutions in both Horry County, South Carolina, and Columbus County, North Carolina, the Biblical Recorder noted. The case adds to a run of high-profile child safety investigations that Columbus County law enforcement and state agencies have handled in the Nakina area this year, including a Whiteville-area stepfather and mother held without bond in a separate child sex abuse case.
