ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Court TV) —Two weeks after his conviction fraud and racketeering, the Rev. Henry Lyons resigned from his post as president of the National Baptist Convention.

Lyon's resignation, which came as the NBC's board of trustees conducted a meeting to discuss his future, was not a surprise. He had suggested in a weekend interview with Connie Chung on ABC's "20/20 Monday" that he would step down.

"I think it's best ... The emphasis now must be on the church, on the convention, on the programs and mission and ministries of the convention," Lyons said. "I feel that it's time for me to let that be a priority. We've spent almost two years trying to establish my innocence. That did not happen. All right. Let's get on with it."

On February 27, Lyons was convicted of racketeering and fraud for bilking several corporations out of more than $4 million that was intended for the National Baptist Convention. He also was found guilty of stealing almost $250,000 that the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith had donated to rebuild churches destroyed by fires in the South. Lyons' co-defendant, Bernice Edwards, was acquitted of the charges.

Lyons could face between three and seven years in prison when he is sentenced on March 31. He faces a separate federal trial on similar charges in April but is expected to plead guilty. Lyons' attorney, Grady Irvin, said his client has maintained his dignity and is sorry for hurting his organization.

"He stepped down with tremendous dignity. He said the time has come," said Irvin. "He was very remorseful with respect to any difficulty he has caused the convention."

Despite the bad publicity Lyons' case has brought the NBC, his fall from grace apparently has led organization leaders to re-evaluate the group's business practices. At Lyons' trial, one witness, Lacy Curry, said that Lyons was free to make deals with corporations that wanted to profit from the NBC's congregation and that there was nothing wrong with him reaping some of the rewards of the deals. That, Curry claimed, is the way past Convention presidents have operated.

Now, convention leaders said the group is trying to find a way to prevent future NBC leaders from abusing their authority and preventing cases similar to Lyons'. The Rev. S.C. Cureton of Greenville, S.C. will take over an an interim convention president until Lyons' five-year term expires in September.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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