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D.C. pastor misused $1.5 million in pandemic relief loans, federal prosecutors allege
Also:
• Maryland Man Facing Federal Charge for Fraudulently Obtaining a $1.5 Million Paycheck Protection Program Loan and Attempting to Obtain at Least Two Additional Fraudulent Covid-19 Relief Loans (U.S. Dept. of Justice)
• Pastor fraudulently got $1.5M in PPP loans then splurged on 39 cars including Tesla (Christian Post)
______________________________________________________________________
Source: Washington Post
D.C. pastor misused $1.5 million in pandemic relief loans, federal prosecutors allege
By Keith L. Alexander
April 25, 2021 at 1:11 p.m. EDT
Federal authorities have arrested the pastor of a Northeast Washington church, charging him with fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million from the coronavirus-related Paycheck Protection Program. They allege that he bought 39 used luxury automobiles and property in Baltimore.
Rudolph Brooks Jr., 45, of Cheltenham, Md., was charged with wire fraud. The criminal complaint was filed March 29 and unsealed after Brooks’s arrest on April 2.
Brooks is the founder and pastor of Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries in the 1700 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE. According to the complaint, he also identified himself as the owner of Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors in Cheltenham.
Phone calls to the church on Sunday seeking comment were not returned.
Authorities say Brooks opened the car-selling business in 2010 but shut it down two years later. Brooks then allegedly revived the business in May 2020, shortly after the federal government approved the Cares Act, which authorized up to $659 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for employee retention and certain business expenses to help them provide employee paychecks during the pandemic.
-snip-
By Keith L. Alexander
April 25, 2021 at 1:11 p.m. EDT
Federal authorities have arrested the pastor of a Northeast Washington church, charging him with fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million from the coronavirus-related Paycheck Protection Program. They allege that he bought 39 used luxury automobiles and property in Baltimore.
Rudolph Brooks Jr., 45, of Cheltenham, Md., was charged with wire fraud. The criminal complaint was filed March 29 and unsealed after Brooks’s arrest on April 2.
Brooks is the founder and pastor of Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries in the 1700 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE. According to the complaint, he also identified himself as the owner of Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors in Cheltenham.
Phone calls to the church on Sunday seeking comment were not returned.
Authorities say Brooks opened the car-selling business in 2010 but shut it down two years later. Brooks then allegedly revived the business in May 2020, shortly after the federal government approved the Cares Act, which authorized up to $659 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for employee retention and certain business expenses to help them provide employee paychecks during the pandemic.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/rudolph-brooks-ppp/2021/04/25/a4a139aa-a5d9-11eb-8c1a-56f0cb4ff3b5_story.html
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Source: Christian Post
CP CURRENT PAGE:U.S. | MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2021
Pastor fraudulently got $1.5M in PPP loans then splurged on 39 cars including Tesla
By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter
Pastor Rudolph Brooks Jr., founder and senior pastor of the Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries in Washington, D.C., is now facing up to 20 years in prison after he was arrested for fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, which he then splurged on personal expenses, including 39 cars.
A release from the Department of Justice said Brooks, 45, was arrested earlier this month by federal authorities who also seized some $2.2 million he deposited in various bank accounts as well as a 2018 Tesla Model 3.
He's also accused of purchasing other luxury vehicles, including a 2017 Mercedes-Benz S Class, two 2017 Infinity Q50s, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade, a 2005 Bentley Continental, a 2014 GMC Yukon XL, and several older model luxury vehicles which are not considered an appropriate use of loan funds acquired from the federal government’s multibillion-dollar coronavirus relief program for small businesses.
Brooks is the owner of Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors. The business, which was incorporated with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation on Oct. 29, 2010, was formed to purchase and sell cars. The company was forfeited on Oct. 1, 2012, but subsequently revived during the coronavirus pandemic on May 28, 2020, with Brooks listed as the resident agent.
-snip-
Pastor fraudulently got $1.5M in PPP loans then splurged on 39 cars including Tesla
By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post Reporter
Pastor Rudolph Brooks Jr., founder and senior pastor of the Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries in Washington, D.C., is now facing up to 20 years in prison after he was arrested for fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, which he then splurged on personal expenses, including 39 cars.
A release from the Department of Justice said Brooks, 45, was arrested earlier this month by federal authorities who also seized some $2.2 million he deposited in various bank accounts as well as a 2018 Tesla Model 3.
He's also accused of purchasing other luxury vehicles, including a 2017 Mercedes-Benz S Class, two 2017 Infinity Q50s, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade, a 2005 Bentley Continental, a 2014 GMC Yukon XL, and several older model luxury vehicles which are not considered an appropriate use of loan funds acquired from the federal government’s multibillion-dollar coronavirus relief program for small businesses.
Brooks is the owner of Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors. The business, which was incorporated with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation on Oct. 29, 2010, was formed to purchase and sell cars. The company was forfeited on Oct. 1, 2012, but subsequently revived during the coronavirus pandemic on May 28, 2020, with Brooks listed as the resident agent.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-fraudulently-got-15m-in-ppp-loans-then-splurged-on-cars.html
Pastor Rudolph E. Brooks is the founder and senior pastor of Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries, Inc, in Washington, DC
______________________________________________________________________
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Maryland
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 5, 2021
Maryland Man Facing Federal Charge for Fraudulently Obtaining a $1.5 Million Paycheck Protection Program Loan and Attempting to Obtain at Least Two Additional Fraudulent Covid-19 Relief Loans
Law Enforcement Also Obtained Warrants to Seize $2.2 Million and a 2018 Tesla Model 3
Greenbelt, Maryland – A criminal complaint has been filed charging Rudolph Brooks, Jr., age 45, of Cheltenham, Maryland, on the federal charge of wire fraud. In addition, law enforcement obtained warrants authorizing the seizure of more than $2.2 million held in various bank accounts, as well as a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The criminal complaint was filed on March 29, 2021 and was unsealed following Brooks’s arrest on April 2, 2021.
The criminal complaint and seizures were announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG); Acting Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG).
As detailed in the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering from the economic consequences of COVID-19. The CARES Act authorized up to $659 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for employee retention and certain business expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The business must use PPP loan proceeds on payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. Initially, the program allowed the principal to be forgiven if the business spent the loan proceeds on qualifying expenses within eight weeks of loan issuance and used at least 75 percent of the loan for payroll. On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 went into effect. This law extended the period from eight weeks to 24 weeks that the loan proceeds had to be spent and reduced the requirement that the loan proceeds be spent on payroll from 75 percent to 60 percent. An Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) is an SBA-administered loan designed to provide assistance to small businesses that suffer substantial economic injury as a result of a declared disaster. An EIDL helps businesses meet necessary financial obligations that could have been met had the disaster not occurred. It provides relief from economic injury that the disaster caused and permits businesses to maintain a reasonable working capital position during the period that the disaster affected. In March 2020, the SBA issued an EIDL declaration making EIDL loans available to small businesses to help alleviate economic injury caused by COVID-19.
Brooks is the owner of Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors (Cars Direct), the stated purpose of which was to purchase and sell cars. Cars Direct was incorporated with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) on October 29, 2010. Cars Direct was forfeited on October 1, 2012 and subsequently revived on May 28, 2020. Brooks is listed as the resident agent with SDAT.
The affidavit alleges that, on May 9, 2020, Brooks applied for a PPP loan on behalf of Cars Direct in the amount of $1,556,589. In support of the Cars Direct PPP loan application, Brooks allegedly submitted fraudulent tax forms which allegedly reported $724,469 in payments via Forms 1099-MISC and $7,471,630 in total unemployment payments to employees from Cars Direct. However, as detailed in the affidavit, IRS records do not reflect any tax filings made by Cars Direct for any tax period, indicating that Cars Direct has not hired employees or paid unemployment taxes. Additionally, the Maryland Department of Labor has no record of Cars Direct paying wages or of Brooks receiving wages.
-snip-
Monday, April 5, 2021
Maryland Man Facing Federal Charge for Fraudulently Obtaining a $1.5 Million Paycheck Protection Program Loan and Attempting to Obtain at Least Two Additional Fraudulent Covid-19 Relief Loans
Law Enforcement Also Obtained Warrants to Seize $2.2 Million and a 2018 Tesla Model 3
Greenbelt, Maryland – A criminal complaint has been filed charging Rudolph Brooks, Jr., age 45, of Cheltenham, Maryland, on the federal charge of wire fraud. In addition, law enforcement obtained warrants authorizing the seizure of more than $2.2 million held in various bank accounts, as well as a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The criminal complaint was filed on March 29, 2021 and was unsealed following Brooks’s arrest on April 2, 2021.
The criminal complaint and seizures were announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG); Acting Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG).
As detailed in the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering from the economic consequences of COVID-19. The CARES Act authorized up to $659 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for employee retention and certain business expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The business must use PPP loan proceeds on payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. Initially, the program allowed the principal to be forgiven if the business spent the loan proceeds on qualifying expenses within eight weeks of loan issuance and used at least 75 percent of the loan for payroll. On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 went into effect. This law extended the period from eight weeks to 24 weeks that the loan proceeds had to be spent and reduced the requirement that the loan proceeds be spent on payroll from 75 percent to 60 percent. An Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) is an SBA-administered loan designed to provide assistance to small businesses that suffer substantial economic injury as a result of a declared disaster. An EIDL helps businesses meet necessary financial obligations that could have been met had the disaster not occurred. It provides relief from economic injury that the disaster caused and permits businesses to maintain a reasonable working capital position during the period that the disaster affected. In March 2020, the SBA issued an EIDL declaration making EIDL loans available to small businesses to help alleviate economic injury caused by COVID-19.
Brooks is the owner of Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors (Cars Direct), the stated purpose of which was to purchase and sell cars. Cars Direct was incorporated with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) on October 29, 2010. Cars Direct was forfeited on October 1, 2012 and subsequently revived on May 28, 2020. Brooks is listed as the resident agent with SDAT.
The affidavit alleges that, on May 9, 2020, Brooks applied for a PPP loan on behalf of Cars Direct in the amount of $1,556,589. In support of the Cars Direct PPP loan application, Brooks allegedly submitted fraudulent tax forms which allegedly reported $724,469 in payments via Forms 1099-MISC and $7,471,630 in total unemployment payments to employees from Cars Direct. However, as detailed in the affidavit, IRS records do not reflect any tax filings made by Cars Direct for any tax period, indicating that Cars Direct has not hired employees or paid unemployment taxes. Additionally, the Maryland Department of Labor has no record of Cars Direct paying wages or of Brooks receiving wages.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/maryland-man-facing-federal-charge-fraudulently-obtaining-15-million-paycheck-protection
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