Pastor and Son Charged With Alleged $8 Million Scam

A Florida pastor and his son were arrested on Wednesday after they were charged with stealing over $8 million in Covid relief funds from the Federal government.

What did they use the funds on?

They reportedly attempted to buy a million-dollar home near Walt Disney World.

Evan Edwards, 64, and his son Josh applied for an 8.4 million PPP loan for ASLAN International after they reportedly falsified the number of employees that worked at the ministry.

Florida Pastor And Son Who Stole $8 Million In COVID Funds, Go “Non-Verbal” In Court#covid #florida #pastor #son #newshttps://t.co/XAgywkdxip

— Tampa Free Press (@tampafreepress) December 15, 2022

NBC News dropped these details:

A Florida pastor and his son were arrested Wednesday on charges of fraudulently obtaining more than $8 million in federal Covid relief funds and attempting to use some of the money to buy a luxury home near Walt Disney World.

Evan Edwards, 64, and his son, Josh, 30, were taken into custody five months after an NBC News report raised questions over why they hadn’t been charged in the alleged scam, which federal prosecutors first identified in court papers in December 2020.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the family had hired an attorney.

A source familiar with the investigation said NBC News’ previous reporting led law enforcement to prioritize the case.

The case dates to April 2020, when Josh Edwards applied for a $6 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) 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, according to a federal forfeiture complaint.

ASLAN International was ultimately approved for an $8.4 million loan.

#BREAKING_NEWS-Florida pastor Evan Edwards and 30 yr old son Josh arrested for stealing $8 million in PPP loans. They lied, saying they had 486 employees and $2.7 million payroll when in reality they had 4 employees (family) and $5K monthly income. https://t.co/6AmgdQMiBU

— 🪴Laurie (@Laurieluvsmolly) December 14, 2022

Pastor and family stole $8M from taxpayers in Covid scam, feds say. Why haven't they been charged? https://t.co/duk6CiSYxA via @nbcnews

Evan Edwards and his family stole $8 million in Covid funds.

I’d like to know why they haven’t been charged, too. pic.twitter.com/tXqs4fF5Ni

— HG Tomato 🍅 (@HGTomato) July 1, 2022

Ezekiel 34:2 Is a perfect example of what the pastor and his son did and that verse reads:

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?

Originally the pastor and his son were not charged but after this report by NBC went viral charges followed:

Federal agents in Florida had been seeking to question Evan Edwards, a pastor, and his family for days when their Mercedes SUV was spotted speeding on I-75 north of Gainesville.

The Edwardses were Christian missionaries from Canada who lived in Turkey for many years and moved to Florida in 2019. On paper they ran a faith-based charity with a high-minded mission: to “communicate Christian love in doctrine and service to the poor.”

But by the fall of 2020, the family of four — dad Evan; mom Mary Jane; daughter Joy, 36; and son Josh, 30 — were suspected of pulling off a multimillion-dollar fraud that targeted the government’s Covid relief program for small businesses and nonprofits.

The Edwardses received more than $8 million after Josh filed paperwork falsely claiming that their ministry, ASLAN International Ministry, had 486 employees and a monthly payroll of $2.7 million, according to a federal forfeiture complaint.