Lawsuit says evangelist stole idea

LOS ANGELES, June 26 (UPI) -- A California businessman has sued Georgia televangelist Creflo Dollar, charging that he stole an idea for a pay service providing religious text messages.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles by Devone Lawson of Marina del Rey also names Dollar's son, Jimmy, and the evangelist's businesses, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.

Dollar, 47, founded the World Changers Church International Church in Fulton County in the late 1980s and now has a branch in New York. He preaches the Prosperity Gospel that faith will find material rewards.

Lawson's suit claims Dollar used his ideas for his "Word on the Go" texting service after they developed the plan together. In legal papers, he says Dollar is making $50 million in revenue a year from $5.99 monthly subscriptions.

"Apparently, the Rev. Dollar and the Dollar Ministries do not practice what they preach, unless the prosperity gospel they preach justifies fraud and theft in the attainment of material wealth," James Evangelista, Lawson's Atlanta lawyer, said.