Two American clerics arrested, charged for manipulating members, soliciting donations, money laundering
Two American clerics arrested, charged for manipulating members, soliciting donations, money laundering
The crimes the duo were charged with could attract over 60 years in prison if found guilty and convicted by the court.
David Taylor and Michelle Brannon
David Taylor and Michelle Brannon
AU.S. federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Michigan indicted two clerics, David Taylor and Michelle Brannon, who were arrested and charged for their alleged roles in a forced labour and money laundering conspiracy on Wednesday.
Mr Taylor, 53, who refers to himself as “Apostle,” and Mr Brannon, 56, “were arrested today in North Carolina and Florida in a nationwide takedown of their forced labour organisation,” the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a statement.
The DoJ said Messrs Taylor and Brannon, leaders of Kingdom of God Global Church (KOGGC), formerly Joshua Media Ministries International (JMMI), “ran a call centre that solicited donations for KOGGC/JMMI every day.”
It added, “KOGGC/JMMI, led by the duo of Messrs Taylor and Brannon, “received millions of dollars in donations each year through its call centres”, and “used much of the money to purchase luxury properties, luxury vehicles, and sporting equipment such as a boat, jet skis, and ATVs. In total, Taylor received approximately $50 million in donations since 2014.”
According to the indictment, the duo of Messrs Taylor and Brannon compelled their victims to work at their call centres and to work for Taylor as his “armour bearers.” Armour bearers were Taylor’s personal servants who fulfilled Taylor’s demands around the clock.
As Mr Taylor’s armour bearers, victims ran errands, including transporting “women from ministry houses, airports, and other locations to Taylor’s location and ensured the women transported to Taylor took Plan B emergency contraceptives.”
“Taylor set unobtainable daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly monetary donation goals for victims working in the call centres and required victims to follow the orders he created without question. If victims disobeyed an order or failed to reach his monetary goals, Taylor and Brannon punished the victims with public humiliation, additional work, food and shelter restrictions, psychological abuse, forced repentance, sleep deprivation, physical assaults, and threats of divine judgment in the form of sickness, accidents, and eternal damnation,” the indictment added.
The crimes the duo were charged with could attract over 60 years in prison if found guilty and convicted by the court.
“Conspiracy to Commit Forced Labour: up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000. Forced Labour: up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000. Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering: up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $500,000 or twice the value of the properties involved in the money laundering transactions,” the DoJ said.
