Megachurch Pastor Returns To The Pulpit After Spending 3 Years In Prison
A megachurch pastor who served time in prison on fraud charges was welcomed warmly to the pulpit on Sunday, preaching his first sermon in four years.
Kirbyjon Caldwell, 72, former lead pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas, was convicted in 2021 of defrauding investors of $3.6 million by selling them worthless Chinese bonds. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to six years in prison but was relased after three. Following his conviction, his wife, Suzette Caldwell, became the senior pastor.
Caldwell claimed after his arrest that he was unaware he was committing wire fraud and made efforts at restitiution. A fact sheet released by the church states:
He expressed his remorse and accepted his responsibility for his actions by paying full restitution of his own money (no funds from the Windsor Village Church Family were used) in the amount of $3,588,500 – both his portion and his co-defendant’s portion − to the victims/investors.
Prior to the indictment, Pastor Caldwell returned slightly over one million dollars, or one-third of the investors’ money when they asked for it.
Pastor Caldwell additionally paid more than $600,000 to the victims/investors for opportunity costs and other fees they incurred to engage in transactions.
For the first time in modern-day America, this type of restitution that Pastor Caldwell made is history-making because, a defendant paid full restitution plus fees without the government’s insistence or encouragement.
Pastor Caldwell did not know any of the investors prior to the deal; his co-defendant knew all of them. Yet, Pastor Caldwell paid the victims; his co-defendant did not.
On Sunday, the church celebrated his return with much fanfare. They also announced that they were throwing a him a party to celebrate all the birthdays he missed while incarcerated.
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