North Carolina televangelist Todd Coontz has been convicted by a federal jury of tax fraud for not paying taxes and claiming certain luxury items as business expenses.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Coontz was indicted last summer for failing to pay taxes as well as filing false tax returns after he claimed personal items such as his family's $1.5 million condo, as business expenses.
A statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office indicated that the preacher had paid for personal items, including more than $200,000 for clothes and $140,000 for meals using money from his business.
The preacher also listed three BMWs, two Ferraris, a Maserati and a Land Rover as business expense, according to prosecutors.
Coontz reportedly engaged in a check-cashing scheme by flying coach and then asking for reimbursement for first-class tickets. He would pocket the difference and cover up the reimbursement by instructing ministries to make checks payable directly to him.
The U.S. Attorney's Office stated that the preacher had concealed and cashed 102 checks amounting to at least $252,000 between the period of 2010 and 2013. At least 32 checks amounting to $105,000 were cashed in 2014.
A certified public account testified in court that he let go of Coontz as a client because the preacher refused to pay himself a salary and file with the IRS.
As the prosecutors made their case showing his alleged offenses, Coontz's defense team tried to show that he had no intention of deceiving the government.
"It wasn't intentional. It was due to a series of miscommunications and misunderstandings, and obviously the jury felt otherwise," defense attorney Mark Foster said, according to WSOCTV.
Coontz served as the minister of Rock Wealth International Ministries between 2010 and 2014, and had written several books on faith and finances.
As a televangelist, Coontz had reportedly told his followers that they would receive financial rewards from God in exchange for giving money to his ministry.
In addition to his ministry, he also ran two for-profit companies, Legacy Media and Coontz Investments and Insurance.
Prosecutors said that Coontz had "consistently failed" to pay his taxes on time, despite receiving multiple warnings from the IRS.
"Coontz has been released on bond. The failure to pay tax charge carries a maximum prison term of one year and a $100,000 fine, per count. The aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns charge carries a maximum prison term of three years and a $250,000 fine, per count," the statement from the office read, as reported by The Christian Post.
