Federal authorities in Maryland have arrested a pastor on charges of wire fraud for reportedly fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million in PPP loans.
Following his arrest on April 2, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland issued a press release detailing the charges against Rudolph Brooks Jr., 45.
“Cars Direct was forfeited on October 1, 2012, and subsequently revived on May 28, 2020,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Brooks’ arrest court document claims that he falsified tax forms to apply for $1,556,589 in PPP loans for Cars Direct.
According to the attorney’s office, Brooks also filed a falsified application for EIDL loans on behalf of Cars Direct, claiming that the company made $148,000 in revenue with a cost of goods sold of just over $82,000 for about the same time period.
Brooks bought 39 cars starting in May 2020, according to the US Attorney’s office, including a 2017 Mercedes-Benz S Class, two 2017 Infinity Q50s, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade, a 2005 Bentley Continental, a 2018 Tesla Model 3, a 2014 GMC Yukon XL, as well as several earlier model expensive cars.
According to the Washington Post, Brooks, the pastor and founder of Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration Ministries, faces up to 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud, followed by three years of supervised release.
Source: KSAT
