Florida Pastor Scandal came into the spotlight, and as a result, a father-son duo was arrested.
Evan Edwards, a Florida pastor, and his son Josh were detained on December 14, 2022, for collecting more than $8 million in federal Covid relief payments through fraud.
Evan and Joshua Edwards, both of Orlando, were detained on Wednesday on suspicion of using the money for lavish purchases like a multimillion-dollar home close to Walt Disney World.
Under the condition of anonymity, a neighbor told NBC News, “I’m delighted they got arrested. It has taken a while.”
The father and son, who are both from Canada, are accused of conspiring to commit bank fraud, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
The Edwards are Christian missionaries who managed the Aslan International Ministry, a church-based organization intending to spread “Christian love in doctrine and service to the impoverished.”
They were also penalized for spending some money to purchase a great house close to Walt Disney World. For $3.7 million, the family bought a Four Seasons Private Residence in Golden Oak.
The pastor and his son, of Canadian descent, are accused of conspiring to conduct bank fraud and visa fraud.
Federal prosecutors allege that at the start of April 2020, the father, the son, and the rest of the family submitted a false loan application to a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under ASLAN International Ministry, which was approved by the authorities.
This information led to the discovery of the fraud.
The money was allegedly transferred to the family’s different bank accounts after that to hide their whereabouts. It is also said that the government had ordered the family to return the funds in 2020, but they were eventually detained earlier this month.
Federal agents made an attempt to search the Golden Oak home that the family had purchased with the money earned through fraud in September 2020 after the fraud was discovered.
But the agents discovered it to be empty. Later, the family was apprehended in their Mercedes SUV, which was also filled with lots of bank data, bags of shreds of paper, and a few electronic devices for blocking radio waves and preventing tracking.
The preacher and his family were detained, but the next day they were released, and the matter was dropped. But a different judge ruled in April 2021 that the $8.4 million the family wrongfully obtained and spent should be promptly forfeited. The preacher did not, however, abide by their orders.
NBC News, a well-known media outlet, highlighted the scam’s specifics and how the victim’s family hid the entire episode.
Five months after the news item went live, the preacher Evan and his son Joshua Edwards were arrested.
According to NBC’s investigation, the father and son allegedly raised money to help the Aslan International Ministry, Inc.
The PPP loan application also said that ASLAN International employed 486 people and had $2.7 million in typical monthly payroll costs.
However, the number of employees and the claimed expenses did not match the initial figures.
The complaint claims that $3.7 million was utilized to buy a mansion as indicated and that the remaining millions were stashed away in various banks under the pastor’s identity.
