Friday, July 6, 2018

UPDATED::NC church leader indicted in unemployment benefits scheme | Charlotte Observer

UPDATE:: Word of Faith member pleads not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy
A Rutherfordton business owner and member of Word of Faith Fellowship Church pleaded not guilty to a wire fraud charge on Monday.

Marion Kent Covington appeared in federal court on the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years and a maximum fine of $1 million.

Diane McKinny, Covington's employee at Diverse Corporate Technologies (DCT) and Integrity Marble, pleaded not guilty to the same charge on June 18.

Federal prosecutors accuse Covington and McKinny of obtaining more than six months of labor that was paid for by the government.
A prominent leader of a controversial Western North Carolina church is accused of devising a scheme that cheated taxpayers out of tens of thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits.

Kent Covington of Rutherfordton, a top minister in the Word of Faith Fellowship church, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Over five years, according to the indictment, Covington and "co-conspirators" filed more than $250,000 in phony unemployment claims for employees who kept working for companies owned by Word of Faith members.

Starting in 2008, the indictment said, Covington masterminded a scheme to help his plastics manufacturing company survive the recession by laying off his work force, applying for unemployment benefits for his employees, then forcing them to keep working.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/latest-news/article212824644.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/latest-news/article212824644.html#storylink=cpy

NC church leader indicted in unemployment benefits scheme | Charlotte Observer

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