DUBLIN, GA: A former Dublin, Georgia resident is wanted internationally on multiple federal charges for allegedly orchestrating a plan that misdirected more than $30 million donated to Christian ministry in China.
Jason Gerald Shenk, 45, faces four counts of wire fraud in a recently unsealed federal indictment; three counts of international covert money laundering; 13 cases of covert money laundering; 21 counts of money laundering involving transactions over US$10,000; and in one case, failure to file a foreign bank account report, said Jill E. Steinberg, US Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. If convicted on these charges, Shenk would face up to 20 years in prison, forfeiture of any property involved in or attributable to the crimes, substantial fines, and supervised release after serving a sentence.
There is no probation in the federal system.
Arrest warrants were issued for Shenk. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
“When believers donate money to evangelistic causes, it is reasonable to expect that those who solicit their donations will act as faithful stewards of those funds,” US Attorney Steinberg said. “This case is alleging a serious breach of trust at the expense of multiple charities and individual donors.”
As set out in the indictment, Shenk allegedly planned and executed a plan whereby he received more than $30 million from religious charities and individual donors, primarily from religious communities in Ohio and North Carolina, based on his promises to the Use funds for the production and distribution of Bibles and Christian literature in the People’s Republic of China.
Instead, the indictment alleges that Shenk used a significant portion of the funds for his own use, including:
- Payments of approximately $1 million to an online sports betting site;
- Purchased approximately $850,000 in stock in a private nuclear power company;
- Approximately $4 million for the purchase of at least 16 life insurance policies in the names of various individuals;
- Purchases of diamonds, gold and precious metals totaling approximately $1 million;
- Purchases of domestic and foreign stocks totaling more than $188,000;
- Payments of approximately $7 million to the company that operates Shenk’s family farm;
- Purchases made with at least 10 personal credit cards totaling more than $820,000; And,
- Acquired $320,000 real estate in the Galt’s Gulch project in Santiago, Chile.
The indictment alleges that Shenk received approximately $22 million from one charity and its donors and approximately $10 million from another charity and its donors, as well as other donations from individuals. The funds flowed to various shell companies as Shenk claimed to these religious communities that he was a missionary involved in various Christian missionary projects around the world and would use the funds to produce and distribute Bibles and Christian literature in China.
Companies that served as conduits for these donations included Morning Star Ministries, with a bank account in Dublin, Georgia; Connect Connect Asia BV with multiple bank accounts in Singapore; CLF Asia Limited, Hong Kong bank account holder; Autumnvale Group Limited, multiple bank account holders in Singapore; BCB International LLC, a Georgia incorporated company with bank accounts in the United States; Heartland Plantations LLC, a Georgia incorporated company with bank accounts in the United States; Global Paradigm LTD, an affiliate with bank accounts in the United States; and Shenkland LLC, a North Carolina corporation and bank account holders in the United States.
The indictment alleges that Shenk committed the plan from April 2010 to July 2019 and that Shenk renounced his US citizenship in 2016 to avoid financial reporting requirements under federal law.
If you believe you may have sent charitable money directly or indirectly to Jason Gerald Shenk or any of the organizations listed in the indictment, please contact the federal authorities at 478-752-6810. Additionally, if you have information regarding the whereabouts of Jason Gerald Shenk, please contact federal authorities at the same number.
The case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Department and is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant US Attorney Matthew A. Josephson.
