Former AME Zion Church leaders charged in $14-million fraud against California congregations
Two former leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in California are facing federal charges after authorities alleged they defrauded churches across the state out of $14 million.
Staccato Powell, 62, of Wake Forest, N.C., and Sheila Quintana, 67, of Vallejo each face two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of California. Powell also faces one count of mail fraud.
Authorities allege the two took control of congregations’ properties and used them to secure loans to benefit themselves in a scheme that ran from around October 2016 to late July 2021, according to the indictment, which was filed Jan. 6 and unsealed Tuesday.
Powell and Quintana served as officers of Western Episcopal District Inc., which they formed in 2016 after Powell was selected to be bishop overseeing the church’s Western District, prosecutors said.
Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-26/former-ame-zion-church-leaders-charged-with-fraud-california-congregations