The Rev. Acen Phillips, accused of defrauding an insurance company of more than $575,000, will make a personal appearance in Arapahoe County District Court on Sept. 19, his attorney said Wednesday.

"We're catching up, trying to get a handle on these various charges," Gary Lozow said.

Attorney General John Suthers announced Tuesday that his office filed 12 felony charges against Phillips, 72, but the Aurora preacher was not arrested.

Instead, he is being summoned to court next month for a formal airing of the charges against him.

"The Rev. Phillips through his attorney has been very cooperative with the investigation, so we didn't feel it was necessary to place him under arrest at this time," said Nate Strauch, spokesman for Suthers' office. "We don't believe that the defendant is a flight risk because of that cooperation."

The criminal charges stem from incidents beginning in April 2005 when Phillips agreed to pay $10,000 a month in premiums to AIG Life Insurance Co., providing coverage for 257 members of New Birth Temple of Praise Community Baptist Church, which he headed.

However, from July 2005 to May 2006, Phillips allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for beneficiaries of five families.

One claim was for Shely Lowe, who was living with Aaron Thompson when his 7-year-old daughter, Aaroné, disappeared. Lowe died of a longtime heart condition in May 2006, and Phillips' church was listed as the main insurance beneficiary.

That claim has not been paid. But AIG paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for claims Phillips submitted in the deaths of Ryuichi Brumley, James Gary Edson, the Rev. Kenneth Davis and Sallie Simmons, who he said were members of his church.

After Brumley, 24, died in a car accident in Parker, his parents eventually received $80,000. Phillips allegedly pocketed $120,000 after forging back-dated documents that indicated the young man had been a member of his church, the criminal complaint stated.

Parents and other beneficiaries who received life insurance payments are not facing charges, authorities said.

"If the beneficiary knew they were doing something inappropriate, it would be a question to be resolved by the court," said Julie Hoerner, spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Insurance. "But if the beneficiary didn't know fraud was involved, then the insurance company would look to the person who conducted the fraud."