Last year was a ground-breaking year for the prosecution of church crimes and criminals as prosecutors announced indictments of cult leaders for political, sexual and financial crimes.
Court testimony in 2026 will disclose deeds done in secret: Evidence of money laundering, sexual abuse and other crimes of religious leaders will be made public. Prosecutors will explain how crimes are committed and how cover ups take place.
When Churches Operate Like Organized Crime
La Luz del Mundo / Naasón Joaquín García
(Photo: Naasón García was originally arrested by the United States in 2019.)
The United States Justice Department rarely charges religious leaders and their organizations with racketeering and conspiracy, but that could be changing.
Congress passed the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in 1970 to give federal law enforcement better tools to prosecute the leaders of organized crime. The RICO Act also included provisions for American citizens to file civil RICO cases against companies, non-profits and individuals committing racketeering.
In September 2025, Naasón Joaquín García, head of the Mexico-based cult La Luz del Mundo (LLDM, Spanish for “Light of the World”), was charged with racketeering, sex trafficking conspiracy and other offenses.
The criminal counts in the new indictment of García include violations of three RICO statutes.
By charging religious leaders with racketeering, the federal government can seize church and ministry assets obtained through criminal means. If García and his co-conspirators are convicted of racketeering, the federal government will seize four homes in California in addition to keeping computers and smartphones previously seized by the government.
García is serving a 16-year 8-month prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2022 to sexually assaulting three underage girls.
The new indictment is very disturbing due to allegations of García sexually grooming minors, as shown in the follow screenshot.
(Screenshot: Unsealed Indictment of United States of America v. Naasón Joaquín García, page 5.)
As evidence of the church’s cultic nature, the indictment lists key church doctrines that Apostle García taught:
“a. The Apostle is directly chosen by God to be the Servant of God on Earth.
- The Apostle cannot sin, therefore, nothing the Apostle does is a sin.
- The only way for members of the LLDM Church to obtain eternal salvation is to follow the teachings of the Apostle. God will punish and eternally damn anyone who doubts the Apostle, fails to follow the Apostle’s teachings, or defies the Apostle.”
While the 6th Amendment in the Bill of Rights ensures the “right to a speedy and public trial”, due to the massive amount of information collected by the federal government, defense attorneys may request extensions for review.
In November 2025, García’s attorneys received approximately 2.4 million documents during discovery.
Gateway Church / Robert Morris
(Photo: Source – Oklahoma Corrections. On October 2, 2025, Robert Morris, former pastor of Gateway Church, began serving six-months at Pawhuska City Jail in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.)
In 2024, Gateway Church attendees filed a class action lawsuit for the return of tithes and offerings following the disclosure of rape committed by former senior pastor Robert Morris and allegations emerging that the church leadership lied about how much the church spent on global missions.
Donors were informed that 15% of money given to the church would be spent on missions. The class action lawsuit alleges that Gateway Global Ministries was spending less than $3 million on missions when the total should have exceeded $15 million annually in recent years.
In 2025, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint to include allegations of Gateway Church violating the RICO Act by mail and wire fraud.
If the plaintiffs succeed, the Gateway Church case will create a court precedent for the return of church and non-profit donations to donors.
On January 29, 2026, attorneys for Morris submitted a response to the court requesting a partial dismissal for the civil RICO case.
Kingdom of God Global Church / David E. Taylor
On the morning of August 27, 2025, the FBI raided Kingdom of God Global Church (KGGC) properties in four states, while arresting televangelist David E. Taylor and his second-in-command, Michelle Brannon, for alleged money laundering and forced labor.
The original complaint against Taylor and Brannon does not include RICO charges; however, should the ongoing investigation of Taylor uncover evidence of sex trafficking or other crimes, an amended complaint could be filed with RICO charges.
(Screenshot: Cover page of 2025 Indictment)
Taylor built a TV audience by claiming to have face-to-face encounters with God, while describing himself as “Jesus’ best friend” and posing with collections of crutches, allegedly from people that Taylor claimed to heal.
During a detainment hearing, Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Resnick Cohen informed the court, “As the government has noted, there’s developing evidence that Taylor coerced women to provide him sexually explicit videos and pictures. His sexual predation alone makes him a danger to the community for several reasons. First, it is very apparent to investigators that Taylor has an excessive need for sexual gratification, and it will not be controlled with bond conditions.”
During the detainment hearing for Taylor, the court was informed by Taylor’s defense attorney that women in the organization sent nude photos to Taylor as his form of dating.
However, Cohen claims that women are fearful of Taylor using these photos for revenge.
The government may have also obtained evidence of the church leadership attempting to manufacture evidence to defend Taylor. Kearisten Jones, the church’s vice president sent a text message to another church member requesting she send a message saying the nude photos were sent “willingly.”
(Photo: Evidence Cohen submitted to Judge Terrence G. Berg in opposition to Michelle Brannon’s motion to be allowed to communicate with Kearisten (nickname Kea) Jones. The pre-trial release conditions for Brannon prohibit communication with KGGC members.
Jones was one of the church’s most profitable telemarketers, raising more than $3.7 million in three years.
During the August 2025 raids, the federal government seized church bank accounts and a safe with cash.
KGGC filed a motion for the return of seized assets and provided the court with lists of expenses to prove financial need for the seized funds.
(Screenshot: Joseph Busch is one of the leaders in KGGC. The church operated a call center in Ocala, Florida. The church’s bookkeeper submitted an affidavit claiming the Ocala property “can house up to 15-20 individuals.”)
Attorney Jorin G. Rubin represented Kingdom of God Global Church in suing the federal government to recover assets. Rubin’s bio ends with this sentence: “An aggressive litigator in both civil and criminal matters, Jorin knows when a fair and reasonable agreement has been reached and when to engage in litigation ‘warfare.’”
The FBI raided the Kingdom of God Global Church parsonage in Tampa and found 57 volunteers inside the massive 11.5-bedroom mansion operating as a call center.
(Photo: Redfin photo of Tampa parsonage)
According to an affidavit from bookkeeper Jessica Cross, the church has defaulted on its Tampa parsonage. The church currently owes $132,755.93 for 2025 property taxes to Hillsborough County.
The indictment includes criminal forfeiture allegations which would allow the Justice Department to seize and sell the Tampa parsonage if Taylor and Brannon are found guilty.
The Tampa parsonage was purchased in 2022 for $8.3 million. The Redfin real estate website currently estimates the property to be worth $9,385,393 while the real estate website Zillow estimates it to be worth $9,709,200.
In the same affidavit, Cross revealed, “A building located at 18205 Hager Lane in Chesterfield, Missouri that is 10,000 square feet houses up to 30 individuals.” This home has 5 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms and 3 half bathrooms, according to the Saint Louis County Assessor. How can a house with only three showers provide proper accommodation for 30 people?
The next Status Conference for the Taylor case is scheduled for Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
House of Prayer Christian Churches / Rony Denis
Rony Denis, the head of House of Prayer Christian Churches (HOPCCA) allegedly committed fraud while obtaining residential properties. According to the indictment, Denis “would direct members of the HOPCC to act as ‘straw buyers’ in real estate transactions… After the closings, the Defendants would seize control of the properties and convert them into rental properties.”
A related entity, House of Prayer Bible Seminary, is accused of defrauding the Veterans Administration of $23.5 million.
According to the indictment, the real name of Rony Denis is unknown. Denis is accused of using a stolen identity to obtain citizenship in the United States.
The defense has been informed that a Senior Fingerprint Specialist with the Department of Homeland Defense will testify for the prosecution.
The court recently denied a motion from Anthony Oloans, alleged co-conspirator, for a secured phone line to talk to his wife. The government response to the motion revealed, “While in jail after the indictment issued, Defendant told his wife to hide flash drives and charge burner phones with no explanation and no mention of the intent to preserve these items as evidence.”
Recently, the Defendants requested an extension for the pre-trial motions deadline. The current deadline is March 30, 2026.
Postscript: Part 2 in this article series to be published in a week or two and will list more cases to be followed in 2026 while exploring the topic of financial transparency in church and ministry legal expenses.