Two U.S pastors arrested in $50m fraud case, human trafficking

Two self-proclaimed American religious leaders have been arrested on federal indictments for their alleged roles in a nationwide forced labor and laundering conspiracy.

The two people involved are 53-year-old David Taylor and 56-year-old Michelle Brannon, both associated with Kingdom of God Global Church, formerly Joshua Media Ministry International (JMMI), an organization led by Taylor and executive director Brannon..

Taylor was arrested on Wednesday in Durham, and Brannon was arrested in Tampa, Fla, for alleged force labor organization, according to press release from the U.S Department of Justice.

According to the indictment, this scheme began no later than 2018 and continued through least July 2025.

The Justice Department said Taylor referred to himself as “Apostle” and Brannon as his Executive Director.

FBI official said law enforcement arrested Brannon at 706 Guisando De Avila in Hillsborough County, which is owned by the church, according to property records.

Investigators arrested Taylor on Wednesday in North Carolina, which SWAT and FBI agents also raided a hotel owned by the church in Houston.

A 10- count indictment alleged that Taylor and Brannon ran call centres in Florida, Texas Missouri, and Michigan to solicit donations to church.

The pair convinced their victims to work at a call centres, and work for Taylor as personal servants -referred to as “armour bearers” for long hours without pay.

Federal investigators said Taylor and Brannon “controlled every part of the daily living of their victims” who slept at the call centre or in a “ministry” house and were not allowed to leave without permission, and the suspects forced the victims to transport women to Taylor and ensure that those women took plan B emergency contraceptives.

The church received about $50 million in donations through it call centres dating back to 2014.

Taylor and Brannon are accused of using the donations to buy luxury properties, sophisticated vehicles and sporting equipment such as boats, jet skis, and ATVs.

Taylor and Brannon face charges of force labour, conspiracy to commit force money laundering.

Each alleged crime carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

-9News Nigeria.