ORLANDO, Fla — A local woman is questioning the motives of a local pastor who claims to be a prophet.
Sarilyn Ramirez turned to Action 9 after she claims the pastor hired her to do work, but then didn’t pay her what she was owed. She had seen Pastor Michael Lattiboudeaire preaching on YouTube and other social media sites.
Do you have a consumer complaint or need help from Jeff Deal and Action 9? Click the banner below to submit a tip.
Ramirez said Lattiboudeaire, who goes by Pastor Michael, offered her $20 and hour to run his virtual office from her home. She described herself as a woman of faith and said she was excited about the opportunity to do good work with someone who’s spreading the word of God.
‘What are you doing tonight, baby?’: Romance scams are big business
Pastor Michael is also referred to as Prophet during his online sermons for The Prophetic Life Church. It’s clear from those sermons, money is not a topic he’s afraid to address.
In one video, he’s heard saying, “And God has promised me a Range Rover” and “Glory be to God. God has promised my wife a brand-new house.” In another video, he talks about using Zelle and Cash App to send in donations for the ministry.
But when it comes to paying out money, according to Sarilyn Ramirez, that’s a different story.
Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal asked Ramirez, “What was his explanation for not paying you?”
Ramirez answered, “He will be like, ‘Oh, I don’t have money right now.’”
Florida judge stops MV Realty from enforcing controversial homeowner agreements
She said at the time she was offered the job she and her family were struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table.
“I truly believed he was, you know, the real deal and he was as a pastor and a person of God… that he was going to help us,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez helped him prepare scripts for books to be sold on Amazon. She said she called hundreds of churches seeking opportunities to promote the book, and donations for his various ventures like The Great House Fundraising, Inc, The Great House Ministries International Inc and The Great House Publishing Inc.
Sarilyn Ramirez said, “He gave me a list of people to call every week. And one pastor even said to me, ‘Oh, I know this guy. Don’t ever call me again.’”
According to her, Pastor Michael even offered money to her husband, who was an architect in Venezuela, to create some blueprints for buildings the pastor wanted to someday build to run his Biblical empire. But she said after her husband did the work and she worked for three months, Lattiboudeaire never sent her a paycheck.
“We didn’t have money. We have had to go to the different churches that have the food drives and stuff like that to get food,” Ramirez said.
On one sermon, Pastor Michael Lattiboudeaire is heard saying, “When you are hungry, we feel your hunger.”
Despite what he preached in his sermons or prayed about with her family; Ramirez now believes he didn’t really care about them.
‘They didn’t protect my property’: Woman’s car stolen at off-site airport parking lot
She showed Action 9 email and text message exchanges. One message she said Pastor Michael sent read, “I owe but we need to work out without grievances and bitterness.” One email response to her inquiry about the money indicates he wanted her to keep helping him. It read, “I want you to come back and work with me do not allow Satan to scare you.”
When Action 9 showed up at the address where his ministries were listed in state records and knocked on the door, Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal said, “We’re looking to talk to Pastor Michael.”
A woman speaking through the glass doors answered, “Why?”
Deal replied, “We understand that Sarilyn Ramirez worked for him for three months and hasn’t been paid yet.”
The woman said, “We’re not talking to nobody.”
Jeff Deal then saw the pastor through the glass door and said, “Hi Pastor, you won’t come out and talk to us?”
The woman whisked him away and said, “No, no, no, no.”
Deal said, “She claims that you guys are using the name of God to take advantage of people.”
Owners of Legacy Pools accused of defrauding central Florida homeowners out of millions
But the pastor never came outside to address the issue. He didn’t respond to follow up calls or email from Action 9 either. Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal gave him another opportunity to share his side when an Action 9 crew caught up with him outside a real estate office where he works in Oviedo.
Jeff Deal said, “Pastor Michael, Jeff Deal with Channel 9. We’ve been trying to talk to you for the last month. Sarilyn Ramirez says that you owe her money… she worked for you. Anything you want to say about that?”
Pastor Michael replied, “You got the wrong person.” He then closed his car door and drove away.
Sarilyn Ramirez told Action 9 she did receive a handful of payments through Zelle, personal check and cash totaling $550, but said with the hours she logged her pay would have been around $10,000 before taxes.
When she tried to file a police report, The Orange County Sheriff’s Office told her it’s a civil matter and she would have to take him to court. She has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor hoping it will step in to help her.
©2025 Cox Media Group
