Police have arrested a pastor and his son for fraud after they misrepresented their ministry to receive millions in COVID relief funds.
Evan and Joshua Edwards, who also spent years as missionaries in Turkey, were taken into custody last week after investigators say they abused the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a government scheme designed to give funds to small businesses during the pandemic lockdown.
The two men submitted paperwork saying their Christian organization, ASLAN International Ministries, had 486 employees and spent $2.7 million a MONTH on payroll, despite being primarily a small family endeavor.
They transferred the money into different bank accounts to avoid detection. They attempted to purchase mansions for themselves, but through a seizure warrant, authorities were ultimately able to recover $8.4M, so they were unable to profit from it.
According to the US Department of Justice:
Evan and Joshua Edwards are each charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and visa fraud. Joshua Edwards is also charged with making a false statement to a lending institution. If convicted on the conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud charges, each faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on each count. If convicted on the visa fraud charges, each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison per count. Joshua Edwards also faces a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment on the false statement offense.
