Pastor Michael
Whitsey Indicted On Narcotics & Money Laundering
PimpPreacher.com
09/26/2012 Memphis
Bureau
When Thugs Invade The Pulpit
Michael
Whitsey is a perfect example of what happens when a congregation lowers their
standards and opens the pulpit to any thug who can “Preach Good.” In a report
gift wrapped for Pimppreacher.com Michael Whitsey has just been indicted on 10
counts of money laundering tied to narcotics distribution.
Michael
Whitsey pleaded not guilty yesterday in federal court and now faces a maximum
penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine if found guilty.
Please allow us to rewind the story and explain how the congregation at
Abundant Life Christian Church in Antioch,
Tennessee came to the realization
that their Pastor was the Real Life Scarface. Buckle up!
Back in
August members of the congregation showed up for Sunday services only to find
the doors of the church locked and a sign on the door explaining that the
services were being canceled due to measures out of their control.
As reported
by WSMV.com Pastor Michael Whitsey had the church in an intense fund raising
drive in order to save the church from bankruptcy, but the members eventually
discovered that their church had entered into foreclosure proceedings over a
year ago.
“The doors
were locked.
A sign on
the door read the church was temporarily closed due to unpreventable measures
and the members were invited to another location.
But a
Channel 4 I-Team investigation revealed the church isn't temporarily closed.
The bank has seized the building.
And the man
whose pictures and paintings of himself and his wife adorn the front lobby of
the church, Pastor Mike Whitsey, knew the bankruptcy was coming for some time.
"He
didn't make anyone aware that the church was being shut down," said a
former church member who asked for anonymity.
Former
members told the Channel 4 I-Team that up until the church closed, they were
told to open their wallets to get the church out of debt. "He (Whitsey)
was asking people to give more, he wanted everybody to give $1,000 before
June."
The members
now want to know what happened to the money they gave. "A lot of people,
including myself, gave that thousand dollars," the former member said.
Court filings obtained by the Channel 4 I-Team show the church filed for
bankruptcy in June 2011. Whitsey is named as president of the debtor. In August
2011, court records show repeated cases of checks being written to Whitsey and
his wife.
Lawyers for
Pinnacle Bank, which gave Whitsey the loan, wrote there was gross mismanagement
of the estate. Still, former members said they were asked to keep giving.
"He's (Whitsey's) lying. That's all he's been doing is lying. Constantly.
And he needs to be exposed," the former member said. Whitsey denied our
repeated requests for an interview.
Whitsey did
send out an email after the church was closed and blamed a decline in offering
for the financial woes.
A statement
from the deacons of the church, sent to the Channel 4 I-Team, stated in part,
"He (Whitsey), neither us, will engage in any on or off camera interviews
pertaining to this or any other matter... the church took on several financial
shortfalls due to a decline in membership and other business endeavors."
There was no
mention in the statement about what happened to the money given by the
congregation.
The
bankruptcy filings show the attorney for the church recently asked to no longer
represent them and said he could not control his client.
Whitsey had
a Bible study Tuesday at Meharry
Medical College
and we attempted to speak to him. Once campus security realized why we were
there, they asked us to leave campus.”
Just
Call Me Pastor Scarface!
As if that
was not bad enough, our Pimp Preacher Poster Child was also indicted for
conspiring to conduct $375,000 in criminal transactions during an estimated
period of between May and December 2008.
According to
the Tennessean.com
The U.S.
attorneys are seeking forfeiture of $375,000 as proceeds from the money
laundering and a piece of land that they say Whitsey purchased in order to
conceal more than $200,000 in alleged sale of narcotics. The piece of land is
located near a proposed Agripark
Drive in Rutherford County,
according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Agents with
the IRS-Criminal Investigation and DEA DrugTask Force investigated the case.
Caryll Alpert, federal public defender, will represent Whitsey.
Whitsey and
his wife, known as First Lady Michele, began Abundant Life
Christian Center
in 2000. The church, which is broadcast nationally, grew to more than 500
members in four locations — Nashville, Columbia, Tullahoma and Murfreesboro.
To view the complete Indictment
against Michael Whitsey Click Here
To view a copy of the Bankruptcy
Filings please
Click Here
