Grant, 43, of Burlington Township, New Jersey, and Warrington, 48, of Teaneck, New Jersey, were each indicted last month on one count of conspiring to defraud the United States. Grant also was charged with five counts of personal income tax evasion.

The government has alleged that for nearly a decade, Grant and Warrington used their leadership positions to divert millions of dollars belonging to the religious organization and its members for Grant’s personal use and benefit. The two men allegedly concealed that income from the Internal Revenue Service, authorities said.

Grant and Warrington are accused of failing to report a total of $5,342,920 in income diverted from the church between 2007 and 2015, leading to a tax loss of $1,982,470 to the U.S., authorities said.
 

for Priests and Pastors? 

As part of the conspiracy, the two men created Black Icon Entertainment, or BIE, in part to portray Grant as an “entertainment industry mogul whose wealth was derived from his success in the industry and thereby conceal from ICGJC members that his lifestyle was supported entirely by the ICGJC and member donations,” according to the indictment.

“BIE conducted virtually no legitimate business and was funded almost exclusively by money taken from the ICGJC,” the indictment states. The two men each owned a 50 percent stake in the business, the indictment states.

Grant and Warrington caused the religious organization to transfer about $1.038 million in church funds to BIE, and falsely characterized some of those transactions as “loans,” the indictment states. They also used another roughly $1.35 million in church money to pay for BIE’s expenses, according to the indictment.