Jury being chosen in case against church elders

The five people are accused of bilking investors of millions of dollars.

By GRAHAM BRINK

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 9, 2001

TAMPA -- Jury selection began Monday in the case against five Greater Ministries International church elders accused of bilking investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Church president Gerald Payne and his wife, Betty, came to court early Monday with fellow defendants Patrick Talbert, Howard Eudon Hall and David Whitfield. They are charged in what prosecutors have described as a classic Ponzi scheme.

Indicted by a federal grand jury in March 1999, they face 17 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

Maximum penalties on each count range from five to 20 years in prison and can include hefty fines.

The double-your-money program was operated by the defendants from March 1993 through January 1999 at the church at 715 Bird St. near the Tampa Greyhound Track, according to court records. It also was known as the "Double Your Blessing Gift Exchange" and the "Faith Promises Program."

Christians from across the country were told their money would double in 17 months, thanks to gold mines and other profitable overseas investments the church claimed it possessed.

Investors were told part of the profits would be used to help the homeless, drug addicts and foreign ministries, the indictment stated. Part of the pitch included a passage from Luke 6:38: "Give, and it shall be given unto you."

But the funds returned to some investors actually came from money put up by later investors, the indictment charged.

Meanwhile, church officials and "elders" were receiving 5 percent of the gifts from the faithful they recruited, commissions that the defendants termed "gas money."

"In 1998, the conspirators agreed to "cap' gas money payments to each individual at $40,000 a month," court records state.

After their arrests, the defendants denied breaking the law and said their activities were protected on religious grounds.

Last year, two of seven original defendants pleaded guilty to fewer counts in return for helping prosecutors.

The trial could last into next month.

- Graham Brink can be reached at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com.

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