A pastor who defrauded $3.5 million in Covid aid money to fund his lavish lifestyle has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Rudolph Brooks, 48, pleaded guilty last week to fraud and money laundering after abusing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) during the outbreak.
Brooks was arrested in April 2021 for PPP loan fraud after providing false documents for businesses he controlled, the Justice Department said.
He secured $3.5 million after adding staff and payroll costs to his loan applications. He then used the money for personal expenses, including a 2018 Tesla Model 3, property in Maryland, and lavish spending at restaurants, grocery stores, and other retailers.
Brooks, founder and senior pastor of the Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Church, was also ordered to forfeit more than $2 million in Tesla and real estate he bought with the counterfeit money.
The fraud was unrelated to Brooks’ position in the church.
Rudolph Brooks, 48, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering after abusing the Covid Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Brooks, founder and senior pastor of the Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Church, was sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 27, to 18 months in prison.
He secured $3.5 million after adding staff and payroll costs to his loan applications. He then used the funds for personal expenses, including a 2018 Tesla Model 3, (stock image) property in the affluent town of Marlboro, Maryland, and lavish spending at restaurants, grocery stores and other retailers.
Brooks admitted that he used the proceeds of the PPP loan for his personal benefit and made payments and purchases that were not authorized under the program.
In addition to using the funds to purchase a home, a luxury vehicle, and other luxury shopping expenses, Brooks also made cash withdrawals and transferred money to other bank accounts under his control.
On August 27, he pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
A judge ordered the priest to serve 18 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and to forfeit several assets.
Court documents revealed Brooks applied for a PPP loan under a Maryland-based car dealership he owns called Cars Direct in May 2020.
He received a $1.5 million PPP loan that was directly deposited into the Cars Direct bank account, of which he was the sole signatory, after submitting false tax forms and payroll related to the dealership.
Brooks applied for the PPP loan under his Maryland dealership, Cars Direct, Kingdom Tabernacle (pictured) and a company called Madaro, LLC.
Brooks received a $1.5 million PPP loan in May 2020 that was directly deposited into the bank account of Cars Direct, of which he was the sole signatory, after submitting false tax forms and payroll related to the dealership. He then transferred the money from these Cars Direct accounts to his personal accounts and used the funds on credit card bills.
He fraudulently applied for two more PPP loans of $1.8 million and $200,000. The funds were deposited into accounts associated with Kingdom Tabernacle and Madaro, LLC, both of which were sole signatories.
He then opened a bank account called Payroll by BJM into which he transferred $500,000 of the loan funds. He also opened other bank accounts using the name Cars Direct to which he transferred the loan funds.
Brooks then transferred money from these Cars Direct accounts to his personal accounts and used the funds on credit card bills, at restaurants, retail stores, grocery stores, car auctions and mortgage payments on his home.
His purchases included a $507,010 property in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, purchased in Rudolph Brooks’ name, and a 2018 Tesla Model 3 purchased for $60,407 in his son’s name. The vehicle was later registered in Maryland in Brooks’ own name.
According to the federal government’s PPP loan requirements, the funds must be used for payroll, mortgage interest, rent and utilities.
Brooks also tried to obtain funds through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIJD) program, court records show.
He applied for loans through Cars Direct and Kingdom Tabernacle, but both applications were rejected by the Small Business Administration due to “bad credit history.”
Brooks, who was pictured giving a sermon, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. Court records from his conviction revealed he also had to forfeit more than $2 million, a Tesla and real estate he bought with fraudulent funds.
The website and Facebook pages associated with Kingdom Tabernacle were taken down shortly after his arrest, DailyMail.com previously revealed.
The website’s archived version describes Brooks as “a man after God’s own heart” who is “interested in God’s people”.
The site added: “Pastor Brooks knew from childhood that he wanted to serve.” “The people received their deliverance before the altar call, because the word of the Lord was very rich in his belly.”
At a previous church in Maryland, Brooks was an assistant pastor overseeing church finances, according to his now-deleted bio on the site.