Bigamist pastor's 'marriage scam': Five-times-wed author told women God wanted them to be together for twisted ulterior motive, wives say
A Florida pastor arrested for bigamy had a previous marriage annulled after it emerged he was still wed when he said his vows, the Daily Mail can reveal. Five-times married Leslie Williams, 62, was seized near his home in America's biggest retirement community north of Orlando and is currently awaiting extradition to Georgia where his latest nuptials took place.The lothario preacher was busted after flagrantly posting a social media picture of his newest bride just over four months ago, naming her only as 'Cindi' and drawing one surprised comment that read: 'I thought you were already married'.Now the Daily Mail can reveal Cindi is devastated Cynthia Webster, who ran a child foster care business in Florida before losing it during her brief and turbulent relationship with the accused bigamist.'He's a serial bigamist and he's a scammer. It was all about attaching himself to get my assets,' Webster, who married Williams in Conyers, Georgia on December 8 last year, told the Daily Mail.'He goes in and he takes, he just steals everything from you.' Williams was uncontactable for comment as he is in custody and an attorney for him did not respond to our call. It is not the first time Williams has been accused of bigamy amid a heartbreaking trail of women alleging he targeted them for money, we can reveal. Five-time husband Leslie Williams, 62, is facing bigamy charges after his tangled love life unraveled Cynthia 'Cindi' Webster says she was pressured into a whirlwind wedding after just days of knowing Williams and claims the relationship cost her $40,000 and her foster care business Third wife Yolanda Bush, 54, was granted an annulment by a Florida judge as recently as 2024 after she discovered his divorce from his second wife hadn't come through when they said their vows.Meanwhile, new bride Webster claims she only realized how far she had been blindsided after Bush and another woman in Williams's complicated web of philandering saw his Facebook post and contacted her to reveal their own stories.The trio's later digging revealed the self-proclaimed pastor had also married a Brazilian woman only months before he'd recited his vows with 62-year-old divorcee Webster.After further conferring, they contacted cops in Haines City near his home in the controversial 'swingers capital' retirement community of The Villages to report the bigamy allegation – and then exchanged further shocking revelations. 'He cites God to convince you to do something,' said Webster. 'Apart from the heartbreak and the deception, he has cost me my business. It was all about the money.'I'm not even convinced he's a proper pastor or even remotely qualified,' she added.Williams – who preaches on the internet and has written a marriage advice book called Love Her Like This: Loving Her Has Never Been Deeper – wed the two women and became engaged to another between late February and early December 2025, we can reveal.He married Tampa cleaning business owner Cerly De Souza Moita on February 22, 2025 in Spring Hill, Florida. But in May, the 41-year-old Brazilian was arrested following a vehicle crash and is currently in custody amid deportation proceedings in Louisiana. The marriage license showing Leslie Williams wed Cynthia 'Cindi' Webster in Georgia on December 8 last year Williams took to Facebook to change his marital status, prompting comments from a friend who thought he was 'already married' Just two months after his February bride's arrest, Williams switched his affections to medical office manager Peggy Crider, 62, by sending her an unsolicited Facebook message. When that turbulent relationship began to break down, he moved on to Webster.Latest 'bride' Webster connected with Williams on Christian dating app Upward. She alleges she was pressured into a quick marriage so the pastor could claim half ownership of a massive property in Georgia being bought as part of her fostering agency.'We met the day after Thanksgiving last year and he told me God meant him to marry me, that I'm his wife,' she said. 'Meanwhile, me and two partners were in the process of negotiating on a 14,000 sq ft property.'So he sees all this going on for a December 15 closing and he's thinking, if I marry her before she closes I can put my hand in that pot. So he's trying to rush me to marry before we close.'He insisted, God told me you're my wife, no need to wait. So did I fall for it? Pretty much. 'He's throwing everything in and saying: 'Hey I'm the one for you.' We got married in Conyers while we were up there looking at the property. The Daily Mail has also obtained a Williams's application to marry Tampa cleaning business owner Cerly De Souza Moita on February 22, 2025 in Spring Hill, Florida - filed just months before he wed another woman He again took to Facebook to introduce his new wife in March that year The Daily Mail has since learned 41-year-old Brazilian native De Souza Moita was arrested in May 2025 following a vehicle crash and is currently in custody amid deportation proceedings in Louisiana'His birthday is December 8 and my house number is 1208. He used that as a kind of symbol to hurry things along as well.'Webster said when the contract fell apart, 'he started acting real weird, mad even, because the thing he thought he was going to attach himself to didn't materialize'.It was around that time Crider first contacted, telling Webster she'd been expecting Williams to return from Georgia and marry her.'And I'm like, what? She said they'd already bought rings and it was pretty much a done deal,' said Webster. 'She found out from Facebook. He'd even put a picture of the Georgia house on his page with the word 'home'. So we then start finding out about all these other women.'Despite her concerns, Williams gradually moved into his bride's detached family home in Haines City from his modest place in The Villages in January. But tensions came to a head quickly.'I wanted him out. I realized he was just draining me. He was just using me. He didn't love me. It was all about taking from me,' said Webster.'He puts on Facebook that I gave him a car for a wedding gift and it's a picture of my blue Corvette. Williams was arrested on April 22 by the Sumter County Sheriff's Office and has been booked in jail without bond. He's pictured above in a booking photo 'I'm walking on eggshells in my own house, he's going back and forth and spending the nights here but he wasn't even spending the nights in my room. 'He was treating me like I was like some stranger in my own house.'I'm thinking, this isn't how the honeymoon period works. I'm starting to figure it's totally fake. But when I tried to confront him he didn't want to talk about it.'One day he grabbed me and I tried to defend myself by throwing wine on him. And I told him he had to get out because it wasn't working. And then he called the police and told them I hit him with a wine bottle. I didn't, but they arrested me.' Webster said she was not allowed back into her own home until April 1 after Williams had moved out. She said she is facing trial on May 6 over the wine incident and denies the charge.'I trusted him. He talked about my company and how we could be an example to other people who are dating the biblical way. He presented himself as having funds.'But now I have lost my fostering credentials because of his actions and the only thing I can do is retire. I was just trying to get away from him. 'This has cost me $10,000 in legal fees and my business, which had fostered 3,800 children. I had to close the company.'Williams's arrest warrant from Rockdale County Sheriff's Office, Georgia, describes him as 'a conman and grifter' who 'rushed Ms Webster into marrying him after knowing each other for only 12 days'. Williams has been accused of bigamy. He posted a photo of his new wife, Cindy, pictured above, on his Facebook in December Referring to the fostering property, it says: 'Her venture was legitimate but after she had met Williams, he romanced her way into her life and convinced her the right thing to do was to get married before she closed on the deal.'They went back to Florida and after a few weeks of marriage he began to be abusive and controlling. She stated he was very manipulative and got her arrested for domestic battery. She is in the process of getting charges dropped.'Fellow 'victim' Crider told the Daily Mail: 'He found my Facebook profile in July last year and asked if we could meet up. 'He would read me chapters from his book and I later found out he did that to all the women he has conned.'It was all about him. He told me he would sit in bed crying because his life wasn't the way he wanted it to be. And that he'd asked God to send him the woman that was meant to be his wife. That was me.'When we went out he'd start crying, trying every little thing he could do to get into your heart. I'm so angry now that I feel stupid.'Then it was: 'I need a little financial help, I'll pay you at the end of the week.' And by Thanksgiving, I'd given him $12,000 and was under the assumption we were getting married.'However, Williams suddenly turned the tables shortly after the holiday. Crider said he asked her three questions about her 'faith', claiming she 'failed' the final one. 'He told me as a result, you're not the one God has chosen for me,' she said.'At the end of that week I saw the Facebook post that he'd married Cindi.'Court records in Hernando County, Florida, confirm third wife Yolanda Bush was granted an annulment because Williams 'knowingly entered into a marriage' while he was already married 'to another woman'.That second marriage was to Falonda Williams, who filed for a divorce that was finalized in October, 2017.Bush told the Daily Mail: 'We married four days before he was officially divorced from his second wife, who lived in Texas. When I found out, I reported this to police in Hernando County where I live but they decided to take no action.'He lied to me before we married. He said he was divorced but he wasn't. And he'd been married before that as well, for roughly 20 years to his first wife.'The court filing revealing the annulment is part of a case in which Bush battled for sole ownership of the house they shared after Williams 'physically forced her' from it. The court this month ordered the home to be sold and the costs split.Bush alleges she lost her home because of Williams. 'I lost my house, my car, my job. He just took and I lost the lot.'
