Maryland Pastor Gets Prison Time for $3.5M COVID Relief Fraud — Bought Fleet of Luxury Cars

A Maryland pastor was recently slapped with an 18-month prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining more than $3.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

The pastor, identified as 48-year-old Rudolph Brooks of Cheltenham, will spend that time in federal prison following the case surrounding the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program loans, the Christian Post reported Sunday.

“The sentencing also includes two years of supervised release and mandates the forfeiture of significant assets, including properties in Maryland,” the article read:

In its press release Wednesday, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland detailed the case:

The CARES Act was enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic consequences of COVID-19.  The CARES Act authorized forgivable loans to small businesses for employee retention and certain business expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).

According to court documents, between April 2020 and September 2021, Brooks, who at times served as pastor at Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries, participated in a scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP loans, used the loan proceeds for his personal enrichment, and concealed his misappropriation of the funds by laundering the loan proceeds. As stated in the plea agreement, Brooks used several entities to apply for PPP loans, including Cars Direct by Gavawn HWD Bob’s Motors (Cars Direct), Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries, and Madaro, LLC.  In each case, Brooks grossly inflated the number of employees and average monthly payroll, and submitted fraudulent IRS Forms 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return, and other fraudulent IRS forms to support the loan applications.

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Brooks admitted that he used the loan proceeds for his personal benefit and on payments and purchases not permissible under PPP, such as for a residence; for a luxury vehicle; and, for restaurant, retail store and grocery purchases. Brooks also made cash withdrawals and transfers to other accounts under his control.

Fox 5 reported in April 2021 that Brooks was accused of depositing the loan money into his personal account and using it to buy 39 used luxury cars.

“This included a 2017 Mercedes Benz, two 2017 Infinity Q50s, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade, a 2005 Bentley Continental, a 2018 Tesla Model 3, according to the federal complaint,” the outlet said.

The pastor later pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering, the Post article stated.

Breitbart News reported on March 10, 2023, that “at least $276 billion designated as COVID-19 relief funding was lost via ‘fraud’ and waste,’ according to cumulative estimates from the inspectors general of the Labor Department, Treasury Department, and Small Business Administration (SBA) shared on Thursday in testimony before a House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee in Washington, D.C.”