Rudolph Brooks Jr, the pastor of Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration, was accused of submitting fraudulent information through the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) with a business registered in Maryland under his name. The program is a loan service designed by the federal government to encourage revenue-losing businesses to keep their workers on payroll amid business closures during the coronavirus pandemic.

Warrants were obtained to seize $2.2 million from Brooks’ bank accounts and a 2018 Tesla Model 3, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Maryland. Brooks, 45, was arrested on April 2.

He allegedly applied for loans of $1.5 million, $1.8 million and $200,000 on behalf of the companies Cars Direct, Kingdom Tabernacle and Madaro Celtic Bank, The Daily Beast explained.

He faked his fax and payroll forms, though, and never filed anything with the IRS, according to the DA. He deposited the money to 11 personal bank accounts and spent it on restaurants, groceries, musical instruments and the aforementioned Tesla, which he bought for $60,000 in July 2020, the feds said. He also put a $10,000 downpayment on a house, The Daily Beast said.

Money was also transferred to personal bank accounts, according to the complaint. Brooks allegedly made payments on his credit card bills, at restaurants, grocery stores and auto auctioneers. Money was used to buy dozens of used cars, including the Tesla, a Mercedes Benz and Cadillac Escalade among others, prosecutors said.

Brooks could face up to 20 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release, the DA’s office said.

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