David Wayne Gordon, 37, 126 S. Springfield Dr., Millbrook, faces a maximum of 210 years in prison on the 15 counts. He was the only defendant in the case to go to trial. The other participants pleaded guilty.

He will be sentenced before Circuit Judge Ben Fuller on Sept. 11.

"We, of course, are pleased with the verdict," said District Attorney Randall Houston. "We feel the jury weighed the evidence and came up with the proper decision. Once again, Autauga County lives up to its reputation of producing common-sense juries."

The case was prosecuted by Randy McNeill, an attorney for the Alabama Securities Commission, and Glenn Goggans, an assistant district attorney. The case was investigated by the Prattville Police Department and the securities commission.

"The jury saw through the defense strategy of playing the 'dumb card,'" Goggans said. "Gordon wanted the jury to believe he was an unwitting participant in this series of frauds. The jury did their job."

Defense attorneys Kim Kervin and Bob Martin weren't available for comment.

Going five days, the trial is the longest in Autauga County history. The prosecution had more than 25,000 pieces of evidence they could have presented in the case.

"I think this shows the importance of cooperation among state and local agencies," McNeill said. "We can't overstate just how complicated this case was. The Prattville police and our investigator worked well together. The district attorney's staff and our office worked together very well."

Prosecutors offered Gordon a plea bargain in which he could plea to one felony count, with a recommended sentence of six years. Gordon decided to take his case to the jury.

"He should have took the plea," said Doug White, who, like numerous Prattville residents, have been following the case since it broke a little more than two years ago. "You don't steal from a church and expect mercy from an Autauga County jury."

Those who have pleaded guilty were involved in a laundry list of cons that resulted in more than $3.17 million being scammed from a host of victims, including Prattville's Daystar Assembly of God. The church and several members of the congregation were defrauded out of more than $1 million in a bogus investment scheme. Fake bonds were sold to fund a sprawling religious center in east Prattville.