MEMPHIS, Tenn — Ten people in the Mid-South are federally indicted after fraudulently accepting COVID-19 relief funds.
The amount totals $950,000, and four of these people are pastors and own churches.
The four pastors are charged with stealing a combined $470,075 are Stephen Brown of Light of Glory International Church, Cleveland Wells of Glory to God Ministries, Frederick Smith of New Life Holiness Church and Jarvys Jones of The Temple of Refuge.
The address for New Life Holiness Church brings to Winchester Road what looks like a church. However, the signs just outside of the church and on all of the churches' doors say STEAM. When ABC24 spoke with an employee, she said they’ve been a learning facility for children since 2020.
“We have nothing to do with that situation, this is a whole different ownership. They’re no longer here," the employee said.
The employee didn’t want to provide her name out of fear of retaliation, but insisted this business has been in the building since 2020. Neighbors in the area also said they haven’t seen a church service at this facility since 2019.
The other locations, including Glory to God Ministries on Linden Avenue, seem to be run down and locked up. Even with Light of Glory International Church, people walking by and those who work in the area said they haven’t seen the building in use in a while and no one is answering the phone at any of the locations.
Of the people who are indicted, if they are convicted on wire fraud charges, they’ll individually face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each charge.