Florida Pastor, Son Defraud US Government for $8 Million: Here's How Investigators Caught Their Scam

By Mary Webber Dec 14 2022, 19:59 PM EST

A Florida pastor and his son are currently facing charges of fraudulently getting more than $8 million after the son applied for a $6 million Paycheck Protection Program loan to cover payroll rent and utilities for his family's ministry.

Some of the $8 million in federal COVID relief funds were attempted to be used to buy a luxury home near Walt Disney World.

The Florida pastor, identified as Evan Edwards, and his 30-year-old son Josh, were taken into custody five months after a report raised questions on why they were not charged in the alleged PPP scam.

The U.S. Attorney's Office noted that Evan and Josh were arrested on Wednesday morning at their New Smyrna Beach home.

The Justice Department had managed to take the money back.

Florida Pastor PPP Scam

Justice Department noted that the family defrauded the Small Business Administration out of millions of dollars in COVID relief funds.

Members of the Edwards family allegedly misused the funds by trying to buy a $3.7 million luxury home in the Four Seasons Private Residence community at Walt Disney World Resort.

The remaining funds were transferred to multiple bank accounts in an attempt to hide and conceal their whereabouts.

Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Andrejko prosecuted the case, and U.S. Secret Service led the investigation.

Federal investigators showed up at the ministry's office in Orlando and found the door locked. Workers at the neighboring business told them nobody was ever seen inside.

The ministry's website had its donation links inactive, and sections of text were copied from other religious sites.

Federal prosecutors said in court papers that the man who was listed on the loan application as the ministry's accountant suffered from dementia and had not done any work for the organization since 2017.

Their ministry was found to be called ASLAN International Ministry, which is a family-run foreign nonprofit church.

Their indictment noted that they made a series of fraudulent claims, such as the ministry having 486 employees and average monthly payroll expenses of $2.7 million.

The actual monthly payroll expenses were "significantly lower or entirely nonexistent," according to the indictment.

Florida Scam Case

The two men were originally from Canada and had a total of six charges, such as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and visa fraud.

Evan and Josh were taken to the federal courthouse in Orlando after they were arrested, wherein they were scheduled to appear before a judge on Wednesday afternoon.

Evan's public defender told the judge that his client would not be getting back into the wheelchair due to medical concerns.

In addition, Evan appeared to be nonverbal, leading the judge to order the U.S. Marshals to take the Florida pastor to a medical facility.

Josh also appeared in front of the judge, but his appointed attorney also told the judge that his client was not able to communicate with him either.

Judge David Baker referred to Josh directly and asked him if he could hear the judge or if he understood what the judge is saying. However, Josh did not respond, prompting the judge to order a psychiatric evaluation for him.

A U.S. government attorney said Josh spoke and interacted with agents "just fine" earlier.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Florida pastor, son arrested in New Smyrna Beach for alleged $8 million COVID-19 relief scam - from WESH 2 News