Juanita Bynum to Lose Her House

AP) The south Georgia home of televangelist Juanita Bynum will be auctioned off next month unless she pays nearly $39,000 in back taxes, interests and penalties.

Ware County Tax Commissioner Steve Barnard told The Florida Times Union that the home which is owned by Juanita Bynum Ministries Incorporated has been advertised among the homes that will be up for sale at the county courthouse on November 6th.

Asked why the house is set to be auctioned, Barnard said "Because she hasn't paid the 2006 taxes on it."

Barnard says the property tax bill on the house is $32,007 and 56 cents and Bynum must also pay more than $6,944 in interest, penalties and costs.

Barnard said he was contacted by someone from Bynum's Waycross office and asked how to resolve the matter. The caller agreed to pay $25,000 on the tax bill and the remainder before the tax sale. Barnard said "but so far we've gotten only $5,000."

According to tax records, the 6,748-square-foot house sits on more than 23 acres. Because Bynum does not live there, the house does not qualify for homestead exemption. Her Waycross-based ministry bought the house August 18th, 2006.

Bynum made headlines in August when she accused her husband, Thomas W. Weeks the Third, of beating her in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel. She has since filed for divorce from Weeks, who is known to his followers as Bishop Weeks.

Weeks has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and making terroristic threats. He is free on $40,000 bond and is not allowed to have contact with Bynum.

Forty-eight-year-old Bynum is head of a ministry that also includes a gospel record label and seminar tours. She has sold thousands of motivational books, CDs and DVDs related to empowerment and relationships.

Forty-year-old Weeks is head of Global Destiny Ministries, based in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth.