(WXYZ) — Two church leaders with Michigan ties were arrested and charged in connection to a multi-state forced labor and money laundering conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Watch Brett Kast's and Ryan Marshall's video report below:
Chopper 7 captured the FBI on Wednesday outside a church near Allen Road and Superior Road in Taylor.
Officials say 53-year-old David Taylor and 56-year-old Michelle Brannon, leaders of Kingdom of God Global Church, formally known as Media Ministries International, used physical and psychological abuse to control their victims to get donations.
Taylor and Brannon were reportedly arrested Wednesday in North Carolina and Florida in “a nationwide takedown of their forced labor organization.”
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
Taylor opened the first call center in Michigan and then ran call centers across the U.S., including in Florida, Texas and Missouri, officials say.
Officials say the pair coerced victims to work at the call centers without pay and serve Taylor around the clock. Victims reportedly slept in the call center facilities and were not allowed to leave without permission. According to the indictment, Taylor referred to himself as “Apostle” and "Jesus's best friend."
Taylor also allegedly demanded his victims transport women to his location, and to make sure they took emergency contraceptives.
Watch another one of Randy Wimbley's video reports below:
If the call center workers, reportedly referred to as "armor bearers," refused to comply or didn't reach monetary goals, officials say they would be punished by Taylor and Brannon. Those punishments, officials say, included psychological abuse, physical assaults, and "threats of divine judgment in the form of sickness, accidents, and eternal damnation."
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the call centers would bring in millions of dollars in donations each year. Officials allege Taylor and Brannon used the money to buy luxury properties, luxury vehicles and sporting equipment.
“Money laundering is tax evasion in progress, and in this case, the proceeds funded an alleged human trafficking ring and supported a luxury lifestyle under the guise of a religious ministry,” said Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, in a press release. “IRS-CI stands committed to fighting human trafficking and labor exploitation, and pursuing those who hide their profits gained from the extreme victimization of the vulnerable.”
David Taylor and Brannon are charged with the following:
- Conspiracy to Commit Forced Labor: up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000.
- Forced Labor: up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000.
- Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering: up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $500,000 or twice the value of the properties involved in the money laundering transactions.
Watch chopper video over Taylor church in the player below:
Supporters of the church leaders like a man who goes by the name Ricky are stunned.
"Like why would you guys just do this to a ministry that’s doing nothing but helping society," he said. "I used to be a part of this ministry. I walked away because I wanted to. I wasn’t forced. Nobody forced me to be here."
Gospel singer Vicki Yohe says she was once in a relationship with Taylor before releasing a book in 2020 with claims that he manipulated multiple women for sex.
“There were so many people taken advantage of and I was one of them,” Yohe said. “I experienced firsthand the abuse, lies and corruption of both the individuals who were arrested today.”
Those on the outside called the church a cult.
“It was a lot of control, a lot of terrible situations that was going on. It broke my heart to see people falling into this trap,” Kyle Taylor said.
For Kyle Taylor, the announcement of the charges is a celebration. He first protested outside the church in 2019 when he learned what went on inside from former members he knows personally.
“It just really bothered me that right here in my backyard, there's this place that is scamming people from across the world,” Kyle Taylor said. “They already knew back then that the ministry workers were sleeping in tents, they were using EBT cards to collect food and that stuff, that there was a lot of abuse going on, so all that was evident back in 2019.”
Irene Faziani, a human trafficking survivor, says traffickers often target people who are vulnerable.
"The fear that was put into these people, how vulnerable they were, because vulnerability is the key," said Faziani, who now works with Sactum House, which provides support for trafficking victims.
Labor trafficking goes reported less than sex trafficking, says Karen Moore, the executive director at Sactum House.
"The labor trafficking, which is very prevalent and it's less reported than sex trafficking because it's so easily hidden. And the elements that really caught my eye are the goals that the pastor set out for those workers in the call centers — unattainable goals — and the consequences of not bringing in as much money from the call centers," Moore said.
"They challenged them with, you know, spiritual deprivation. Also just the depravity and the inhumaneness and of people of faith, of supposed people of faith."
For those who have long suspected what was going on behind closed doors, they feel their prayers have been answered.
“We have been praying for such a long time that this would be shut down because this is nothing of God, nothing of the lord,” Kyle Taylor said.
David Taylor and Brannon were set to appear on the indictment Wednesday.
“The indictment of David Taylor and Michelle Brannon demonstrates the FBI’s steadfast efforts to protect the American people from human exploitation and financial crimes, including forced labor and money laundering,” said Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, in a statement. “The alleged actions are deeply troubling. I want to thank the members of the FBI Detroit Field Office, with strong support from our federal and agency partners in the FBI Tampa Field Office, FBI Jacksonville Field Office, FBI St. Louis Field Office, FBI Charlotte Field Office, FBI Houston Field Office, and the Detroit IRS-CI Field Office, in addition to several local, county and state law enforcement partners, for their role in executing this multi-state operation. The FBI in Michigan will continue to investigate those who violate federal law and remain focused on ensuring the protection and safety of our nation.”
