Bishop pleads guilty to fraudulently taking out loans on Bay Area church properties

OAKLAND A former African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church bishop pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud mail fraud and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud for transferring church property deeds to an entity he created then using them to obtain loans prosecutors announced Staccato Powell a -year-old resident of Wake Forest North Carolina agreed to pay restitution between million and million and to forfeit his claim to any church properties as part of his plea according to the Department of Justice Northern District of California The properties he falsely obtained loans on included the First AME Zion Church in San Jose the Greater Cooper AME Zion Church in Oakland and the University AME Zion Church of Palo Alto Powell was indicted for the scheme in alongside co-defendant Sheila Quintana who pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud earlier this year In Powell formed an entity called Western Episcopal District Inc of which he served as the chief executive officer and Quintana served as the chief financial officer from to prosecutors declared He formed this entity shortly after being appointed as bishop of the church s Western Episcopal District which encompasses several western states Powell then instructed pastors to transfer the title of their church properties including the church buildings outbuildings parking lots and residences to Western Episcopal District by signing deeds prosecutors noted Beginning in Powell solicited Quintana to use the transferred properties as collateral to get loans prosecutors noted He prompted the creation of documents posing as resolutions from congregations in backing of the loan applications to provide confirmation to the lenders He also instructed Quintana to falsify documents and sign them with the names of church officers prosecutors added Particular of the loan funds were used by Powell to personal benefit including paying off a mortgage he owed on a property in North Carolina and purchasing a property for his children prosecutors reported Powell caused Western Episcopal District to file for bankruptcy in July prosecutors reported In the application the organization claimed to own churches a parsonage and Powell s residence as assets The application claimed property value of million and explained its debts totaled more than million With his guilty plea Powell admitted to obtaining loans on five church properties across California prosecutors disclosed In Powell used the First AME Zion Church in San Jose as collateral for a loan of to purchase a parsonage instructing Quintana in executing the property agreement and creating a resolution from the church s trustee board to approve the transaction prosecutors noted He also instructed Quintana to fabricate a resolution on the church s letterhead stating that the church held a membership meeting to vote on deeding its properties to the Western Episcopal District and that a unanimous vote approved the transaction Prosecutors added that the church trustee board met twice and voted against the deed transfer on both occasions which Powell knew When Powell later learned that another church in Los Angeles also had a title interest in the San Jose church he demanded Quintana to create a false resolution that the church s trustees held a vote to deed the San Jose church to Western Episcopal District In Powell instructed Western Episcopal District officers to take out an additional million of debt on the San Jose church prosecutors added Powell also used the Greater Cooper AME Zion Church in Oakland as collateral for a million loan in and a loan in without their authorization prosecutors mentioned Related Articles Letters Accountability compassion keys to state s homeless agency A California judge s ruling on immigration raids ripples across nation Here s what you need to know MAGA are furious over Epstein scenario What to know Opinion California s small businesses need protection not legal shakedowns FBI director Dan Bongino reportedly eyeing resignation In Powell notified the pastor of the University AME Zion Church of Palo Alto that he was going to use the church as collateral to secure a loan to help another church in Sacramento prosecutors stated After getting the pastor s signature to transfer the deed to the Western Episcopal District he instead used the church to secure a loan of million In total he prompted million of loans on the Palo Alto church Powell took out loans through similar means on Kyles Temple in Vallejo and First AME Zion Church in Los Angeles prosecutors announced He also admitted that he directed the Western Episcopal District to take out a million loan in September to pay off other loans followed by a million loan in December to pay off the September loan Both of these loans used several churches in California and Arizona as collateral Powell is out of custody and will next appear in court Sept prosecutors commented He faces a maximum sentence of years and a fine of for each count