The pastor of Houston megachurch and a Louisiana financial planner have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that they bilked investors out of more than $1 million, U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced Friday.
Kirbyjon Caldwell, 64, pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, and Gregory Alan Smith, 55, manager of Smith Financial Group LLC, are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of money laundering, according to Van Hook.
Additionally, both are charged in two separate counts of money laundering. According to the indictment, Smith used his influence and status as the operator and manager of Smith Financial Group LLC in Shreveport, and Caldwell used his influence and status as pastor to lure investors to pay more than $1 million to invest in Historical Chinese bonds.
These bonds were issued by the former Republic of China prior to losing power to the communist government in 1949. They are not recognized by China's current government and have no investment value.
According to the indictment, Smith and Caldwell promised high rates of return, sometimes three to 15 times the value of the investments. Instead of investing the funds, the defendants used them to pay personal loans, credit card balances, mortgages, vehicle purchases and other personal expenses.
The defendants each face 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit wire fraud count and for the wire fraud counts. They also face 10 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit money laundering count and the money laundering counts, as well as a $1 million fine.
The case, which was investigated by the FBI, is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Reeg.
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