The leaders of the church of Georgia were charged into an alleged fraud of $ 22 million to target veterans
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Federal prosecutors accused the founder and several leaders of the Prayer Chamber Christian Churches of America, accusing the Ministry of Georgia for the Management of a Fraud Program of 22 million dollars based in Georgia which targeted American soldiers and veterans.
Following the indictment, the FBI led a raid on Wednesday near Augusta, in Georgia, arising the leaders after years of allegations according to which the Church operated as a cult and the prey to military communities nationally.
FBI Atlanta’s public affairs specialist Jenna Sellitto confirmed to Fox News Digital that he had made a raid in a house in the county of Columbia, Georgia, and made authorized arrests linked to the church investigation.
Sellitto said that she could not immediately disclose the identity of those placed in police custody.
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Split of the leaders of HOPCC and the assembly of the prayer church in Augusta, in Georgia. (Google Maps)
The accusations occur after the FBI in June 2022 made a descent at least three churches associated with the House of Christian Churches of Prayer in Georgia and Texas, established a few kilometers from Fort Gordon, Fort Stewart and Fort Hood.
After the 2022 raid, the Ministry of Justice (DoJ) filed a decline request for nearly $ 150,000 saying that the Church and its Bible seminar have deframed hundreds of soldiers out of more than $ 22 million.
The indictment, filed Thursday in the southern district of Georgia, accused the founder of church Rony Denis and the leaders of the Anthony Oloans church, 54, Joseph Fryar, 51, Dennis Nostrand, 55, Gerard Robertson, 57, David Reip, 52, Marcus Labat, 42, and Omar Garcia, 40 fighters (VA) and false income statements.
Denis, whose true identity remains unknown but who obtained American citizenship in 2002, is accused of having exercised strict control over members by intimidation, manipulation and forced obedience, according to the act of accusation.
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Church leaders have collected more than $ 5.2 million in rental income from 2018 to 2020, according to the indictment. (Istock)
The leaders would have helped manipulate by maintaining the personal information of the members, by controlling their finances and orchestrating divorces and transfers of goods.
Dating at least in 2004, the prosecutors alleged that the church orchestrated “real estate purchases of the straw”, using the names of the members of the church to obtain mortgages under false pretexts, then transferring the properties to the entities under its control.
Church leaders have collected more than $ 5.2 million in rental income from 2018 to 2020 while allowing mortgages to fail, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors also accuse managers of fraud the VA by falsely certifying students for the advantages of the GI bill through biblical seminars affiliated with HOPCC.
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The Christian Church of the Prayer House has a location near Fort Stewart in Georgia, which was also attacked by the authorities in 2022. (AP photo / Russ bynum)
The funds for the education of veterans were rather diverted to church leaders and affiliated entities, according to the indictment.
In addition to other crimes, court documents note that Denis would have helped produce false joint income statements in 2018, 2019 and 2020, which led to complaints from hundreds of thousands of fraudulent reimbursements each year.
In a request aimed at designating the case as complex and excluding time under the law on rapid trial, prosecutors claim to have examined more than 175 bank accounts, led dozens of witnesses, executed five search mandates in four states and entered more than 100 electronic devices and 80 boxes of documents.
“The accused are accused of exploiting the confidence, faith and even the service of the military of our country to get rich,” said Paul Brown, a special agent in charge of the FBI Atlanta. “This accusation act clearly shows that the use of coercion, manipulation and fraud under the cover of religion does not protect the criminals of responsibility.”
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According to court documents, more than 200 major jury compartments were issued in the so -called fraud regimes, which lasted nearly two decades and involved 150 to 200 properties, according to court documents.
Denis is represented by lawyer Steven Sadow, who was the principal lawyer for President Donald Trump in his case of interference from the elections in Georgia. Sadow could not be joined immediately to comment.
The Ministry of Internal Security and Immigration and Customs Application has not immediately responded to Fox News Digital requests for more information on the status and identity of Denis’ citizenship.
