Eddie Long, the embattled leader of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga, is being sued by a dozen former members of his church. They claim an assistant of Long’s had been warned that an individual brought to New Birth soliciting investments was running his business with a $3 million deficit.

The suit states that if Long had not described Ephren W. Taylor as his “friend,” they would have never invested — and then lost — nearly $1 million.