The Michigan Attorney General’s Office said Anthony Carta had scammed more than $300,000 from customers through his company, Freedom by Faith Ministries.
It is alleged that Carta stole the money from more than 100 people who were in desperate need of help with their mortgages.
It was revealed that Freedom by Faith Ministries never held regular religious gatherings and only hosted a website that advertised Carta’s books and mortgage assistance program.
The scam saw Carta hire mortgage professional Kelita Leflore as he looked to gain additional business for his mortgage assistance program in the Detroit area.
Once Leflore sold a mortgage service, the proceeds and client file were turned over to Carta to negotiate.
Leflore sold at least 100 mortgage modifications for Freedom by Faith Ministries but later discovered that Carta was not actually negotiating for clients but pocketing their cash for himself.
Attorney General Bill Schuette said: "Using the guise of faith to trick innocent people into entrusting their money to a sham organization is deplorable."
