Father, son in New Smyrna Beach charged with using phony ministry to apply for PPP loan
Two New Smyrna Beach residents were arrested Wednesday as part of a scheme in which they used a phony ministry to defraud the Small Business Administration out of millions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Joshua Edwards and Evan Edwards were arrested early Wednesday at their home on Borassus Drive in New Smyrna Beach pursuant to an indictment. The indictment has not yet been unsealed. Evan Edwards also goes by the alias of Ian Heringa, according to the indictment.
Joshua Edwards and Evan Edwards were each indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud.
They are accused of submitting a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application on behalf of ASLAN International Ministry, Inc., to First Home Bank, now known as BayFirst, according to the indictment. Businesses applied for the government loans through federally insured institutions like banks.
Joshua Edwards was also indicted on one count of making a false statement to a lending institution.
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Additionally, Evan Edwards was indicted on two counts of visa fraud for stating on an immigration application that he had never been arrested when in fact he had been arrested on Sept. 17, 2020, and for claiming that the gross annual income of ASLAN was $1,358,728 when he knew that was false, according to the indictment.
Joshua Edwards was also indicted on a count of visa fraud for claiming on an application for permanent residency that he had never been arrested when he had been arrested on Sept. 17, 2020, according to the indictment.
Joshua and Evan Edwards claimed that ASLAN International Ministries had an annual payroll of $2,764,438 when in actuality it was "significantly lower or entirely nonexistent" according to the indictment.
Joshua and Evan Edwards claimed that ASLAN had 486 employees but again the actual number was "significantly lower or entirely nonexistent" according to the indictment.
Joshua and Evan Edwards also claimed that ASLAN had annual revenue of $51,869,741 in 2019 and $48,235.824 in 2018 when the actual amount was "significantly lower, or entirely nonexistent," according to the indictment.
No other family members were arrested or indicted.
But a press release from the Department of Justice in 2021 stated that Joshua Edwards, Joy Edwards, Evan Edwards, and Mary Jane Edwards allegedly defrauded the Small Business Administration out of millions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds in April 2020.
The government obtained a civil judgment ordering the forfeiture of $8,417,261.38 in proceeds from bank fraud and money laundering offenses related to COVID relief fraud, the release stated.
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Joshua Edwards, on behalf of ASLAN, submitted a fraudulent loan application seeking funds from the PPP, according to the release.
Members of the Edwards family used the funds from the loan by attempting to purchase a $3.7 million luxury home in the Four Seasons, a private community at Walt Disney World Resort, a press release stated.
They transferred the remaining money among bank accounts they held to try to conceal the funds, the release stated.
Joshua Edwards is listed as the registered agent and an officer of ASLAN International Ministries with a principal address of the Edwards home in New Smyrna Beach, according to Florida Division of Corporations records. Evan Edwards and Joy Edwards are listed as officers of the foreign nonprofit corporation, according to state records.
Law enforcement seized all of the fraudulently obtained funds, according to the release.
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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida pastor scandal brings 2 arrests for $8.5 million PPP loan fraud
