Anthony L. Jinwright, a native of Wilmington, NC (just outside my hometown) was indicted this week on charges of tax evasion for the years 2001-2005. A federal grand jury in Charlotte, NC indicted Jinwright on 14 counts, including tax evasion, filing false tax returns, mail fraud, and making false statements to federal agents. He allegedly evaded more than $200,000 and $400,000 in federal and state taxes by not reporting over $875,000 in income. You can read the indictment here as a pdf.
So, just another tax evasion case, right?
Not really. What sets Jinwright apart from many other tax evaders is his occupation: he claims to be a man of God. Specifically, Jinwright – who goes by the designation of Bishop – pastors Greater Salem City of God Church in Charlotte and a church in Cornelius, NC. The congregations of the two churches total about 2,000.
Jinwright has been pastor of the church since 1981. In 2001, he incorporated A.L. Jinwright Ministries, which has been a springboard for his radio show and book activities. Jinwright also leads the Pastors International Consortium.
The indictment lays out a pattern of spending that far exceeded income which was reported on Jinwright’s tax returns from 2001-2006. And Jinwright received a lot of income from the church including, for 2006:
- $303,000 in salary
- $151,000 in housing allowances
- $54,000 in car allowances
That’s quite a bit of compensation. And let me be clear… I don’t for a minute believe that it says anywhere in the Bible that all pastors have to be poor. And I don’t think that being the leader of any charitable organization – whether through a church or a more “traditional” nonprofit like the Red Cross – means that you should be compensated less than a similarly sized organization. So this isn’t about his income (and keep reading, there’s a lot of it). It’s more about the lifestyle that he flaunted, all while crying poor to the IRS, claiming taxable income of as little as $15,000.
In addition to traditional compensation, Jinwright also received annual bonuses, Christmas bonuses, the use of a $83,000 Mercedes owned by the church, and the use of a credit card to pay personal expenses. The church also paid for Jinwright’s daughter’s education.
All total, Jinwright received about $3.1 million from the church from 2001-2006. This doesn’t include gifts made to Jinwright, speaking fees (at least $437,000 for Jinwright and his wife) and salary paid by the church to Jinwright’s wife as Co-Paster (about $835,000), all of which push Jinwright’s income, together with his wife, to about $1 million per year. By comparison, the median income for a family in NC is about $55,000.
Jinwright spent some of the money on cars. Lots and lots of cars. The indictment lists ownership in a BMW 530i, a Mercedes-Benz S550V, five (yes, five) Lexus vehicles, a Bentley GT, and a Maybach 57 (worth $250,000). Leases during that same time included a Cadillac, an Acura, a Volkswagen, a Maxima, a Durango, a Neon, and a Toyota. (No doubt the Neon boasted a “My other car is a Maybach” bumper sticker.)
Jinwright also owned a million-dollar residence in Charlotte and a second home worth about $200,000. Maintenance expenses alone for the homes totaled about $100,000, not including the cost to take care of his three new horses, worth about $25,000.
And it didn’t stop there.
Once Jinwright became aware of the investigation into his finances, he continued to flaunt his cash. He leased two more expensive cars, including a $350,000 Rolls Royce and a 2009 Lexus LX570, as well as a new house worth $3.7 million.
Federal officials allege that Jinwright lied about his income not only to the IRS (where he reportedly deflated his income) but on several loan applications (where he reportedly inflated his income). Three of the federal charges against him involve mail fraud for making false statements to banks on loan applications.
If convicted, Jinwright faces five years on each count of tax evasion, three years on each count of filing false tax returns, five years for making false statements to federal agents, and up to 30 years for each count of mail fraud. I’m guessing he was planning on seeing pearly gates before he saw iron bars.
I guess Jinwright skipped over Proverbs when studying the Bible: A poor man is better than a liar.” Proverbs 19:22
It is safer to not file than to lie.
Sounds like a good candidate for one of Tim Geithner’s aids.
I believe he is a true man of God. I got to know him for myself. People have said things about Christians leaders some times they were right but not all of the time. I don’t know of Bishop’s as reported excessive spending but I do know that this man gave much than he ever spent.
Unfortunately, this information goes unreported and makes him look like a common thief and liar. Bishop has helped several pastors through counseling and advice. He spends countless hours in building their ministries. I hope I’m called to the witness stand as a witness. Because all I know of this man is that he a true man of God.
I don’t think anyone questions his relationship with God (maybe some do). Christians make mistakes, too, but we are not exempt from the tax laws. In this case we may not have all the facts, but it still seems as though he should have surrounded himself with as much tax advice as he did material possessions.
““Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, . . . . . . This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” — Romans 13:1-7.