GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — After an investigation by the FBI and the IRS, the leaders of a so-called church accused of money laundering and forcing people to work for no pay have been charged, authorities say.
David Taylor, 53, and Michelle Brannon, 56, were arrested Wednesday in North Carolina and Florida in connection to what authorities are calling a “forced labor organization,” the Eastern District of Michigan U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a release. It said both have been indicted on 10 counts by a federal grand jury.
News 8’s Florida sister station WLFA reports as part of the indictment, the FBI executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at an address in a gated community in Tampa.
The duo were allegedly leaders of the Kingdom of God Global Church, formerly Joshua Media Ministries International. While it presented itself as a church, former members have called it a cult, according to reports from Wayne County newspaper The News-Herald and CBS Detroit.
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Taylor referred to himself as “Apostle,” the release says. Citing court documents related to the case, Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV reports Taylor said he was “Jesus’ best friend” and claimed to have met God face-to-face.
The group ran call centers that brought in millions of dollars in donations each year, according to the release. It says Taylor started the first call center in Taylor near Detroit, before opening other call centers throughout the country. Those working at the call centers were “armor bearers.”
“Armor bearers were Taylor’s personal servants who fulfilled Taylor’s demands around the clock. Taylor and Brannon controlled every aspect of the daily living of their victims,” the release says. “Victims slept in the call center facility or in a ‘ministry’ house, and Taylor and Brannon did not permit them to leave without permission.”
They were sometimes instructed to bring women to Taylor and to ensure those women took Plan B, the release says.
The “armor bearers” were also required to work long hours in the call centers for no pay, were given unobtainable donation goals and were punished if they did not reach those goals or disobeyed an order, the release says.
The court documents obtained by WDIV contained several text messages Taylor allegedly sent to his followers. They included several threats to take food away, orders to splash water on the faces of call workers falling asleep and demands to stay awake long into the night, WDIV reports.
“We will mess with the food. You will fast from the regular food or abstain for a while normally,” read one text, according to WDIV. “As of now there’s a 21 day peanut butter and jelly regiment life before!”
“… all of you get on your knees now and repent !! NOW !! You have pushed God and I too far,” another text read.
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Authorities allege that since 2014, Taylor received around $50 million in donations; He and Brannon used the money to buy things like luxury properties, boats and jet skis.
Their charges include conspiracy to commit forced labor, forced labor and conspiracy to commit money laundry. Each of those charges can carry up to 20 years in prison and fines.
Authorities say their victims were in Michigan, Florida, Texas and Missouri. The case will be prosecuted in Michigan.
“We will use every lawful tool against human traffickers and seek justice for their victims,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said in the release. “A case like this is only possible through a concerted effort with our federal partners across the country and the non-governmental agencies who provide victim support. We thank them all.”
Anyone with information should contact the FBI at 1.800.CALL.FBI or at tips.fbi.gov.
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