D.C. pastor obtained fraudulent pandemic PPP loan, bought a Tesla: Feds

A Washington, D.C., pastor has been charged with wire fraud after obtaining a pandemic loan for an apparently defunct business and using the money to buy a Tesla, among other things that have now been confiscated.

Maryland man Rudolph Brooks Jr., 45, allegedly obtained a $1.5 million loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the auspices of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act and used it for his own purposes, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement earlier this month. Authorities seized $2.2 million and a 2018 Tesla Model 3, the D.A.’s office said.

Brooks, pastor at Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration, allegedly applied for loans of $1.5 million, $1.8 million and $200,000 on behalf of the companies Cars Direct, Kingdom Tabernacle and Madaro Celtic Bank, The Daily Beast explained.

He faked his fax and payroll forms, though, and never filed anything with the IRS, according to the DA. He deposited the money to 11 personal bank accounts and spent it on restaurants, groceries, musical instruments and the aforementioned Tesla, which he bought for $60,000 in July 2020, the feds said. He also put a $10,000 downpayment on a house, The Daily Beast said.

Trouble was, Cars Direct had gone belly up in 2012, the feds said, but was mysteriously resurrected in May 2020. Further investigation uncovered the alleged fraud.

Brooks could face up to 20 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release, the DA’s office said.