Dec. 15 (UPI) — A Florida pastor and his son were arrested Wednesday on charges of fraudulently obtaining more than $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Evan Edwards and his son, Josh, 30, were taken into the custody for the scam. They allegedly attempted to use a portion of the funds to to buy a luxury home near Walt Disney World outside Orlando.
NBC News reported that the case dates to April 2020, when Josh Edwards applied for a $6 million Paycheck Protection Program loan to cover payroll, rent and utilities for his family’s ministry.
In the loan application, he claimed that the organization, ASLAN International Ministry, had 486 employees and a monthly payroll of $2.7 million.
The ministry secured an $8.4 million loan.
A review of the ministry’s website found that the donation links were inactive, and sections of text apparently were lifted from other religious sites, according to the criminal complaint.
Evan Edwards was wheeled out of the house in a wheelchair. Agents escorted Josh Edwards out of the home and into a law enforcement vehicle, his hands cuffed behind his back.
They were each indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud.
Joshua Edwards also was indicted on a count of visa fraud for claiming on an application for permanent residency that he had never been arrested when he had been arrested on Sept. 17, 2020, according to the indictment.
Law enforcement was able to seize the funds.
