Overview
A Florida priest and his son were accused of doing something unholy.
Earlier this morning, Priest Evan Edwards and his son Josh were arrested for swindling taxpayers of $8 million in a COVID-19 relief scam. Police busted the duo at Edwards’s home in New Smyrna Beach. The older Evans was seen being pushed in a wheelchair.
The Edwards’ were Christian preachers originally from Canada who relocated to Florida, U.S., in 2019. They ran an institute known as ASLAN International Ministry.
According to an accusation revealed today, Josh Edwards “submitted a fraudulent PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan application” in the name of ASLAN International Ministry for $6 million. Declaring their ministry had “average monthly payroll expenses” of above $2.7 million and consisted of more than 480 workers. However, according to the attorney, those numbers were “significantly lower, or entirely nonexistent.”
Although, back in 2020, the government eventually approved ASLAN International Ministry for an $8.4 million loan.
A prolonged interrogation
The Edwards case plays back to April 2020, when investigators started to see some warning signs around the loan.
For example, according to an investigation, the accountant ministry was accused of having a mental illness and hasn’t done any work for the organization since 2017.
Further, when Florida Highway Patrol pulled over the Edwards family for speeding down I-75 north, they found garbage bags full of shredded documents and electronic devices packed in a so-called Faraday bag, which blocks electromagnetic frequencies.
Later, Cops also found a 49-page research manual published by the Department of Justice called ‘Tracing Money Flows Through Financial Institutions.’ However, it took 18 months to file charges in the case despite the evidence and the condemning report.
Theories of News reporters
According to WESH-2 News, earlier today, Evan Edwards and his son Josh Edwards were taken to the federal courtroom in Orlando, where they arrived before a judge. Josh Edwards appeared adrift and refused to answer the judge’s questions. In consideration, the judge ordered a psychiatric concern.
Meanwhile, the reaction in the community has been a fusion of shock and resentment.
“We’re interested to hear the full story. It’s just totally out of character for a man of God, supposedly,” a cousin of Edwards’ stated.
Whereas, Some neighbors were less forgiving.
“He stole money during a pandemic,” a neighbor stated. “He stole it in the name of God. That makes you the worst scuzz on the face of the Earth.”
