Tuesday, 29 January 2013

When Thugs Invade The Pulpit: Pastor Michael Whitsey Indicted On Narcotics & Money Laundering





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