North Carolina pastor pleads guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud

A North Carolina pastor has pleaded guilty in a scheme to obtain more than $400,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans, federal prosecutors announced.

Mitchell Summerfield, 45, of Raleigh, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and up to five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Summerfield was the pastor of the Word of God Fellowship Church in Raleigh and operated several entities, including Winning Ways, KHS Investments, and Vision and Destiny. Between July 2020 and July 2021, he conspired with others to submit false applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), both of which were created under the federal CARES Act to assist small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors said Summerfield submitted multiple fraudulent loan applications on behalf of his entities, including fabricated IRS tax documents and false income information, to persuade the U.S. Small Business Administration and partner lenders to approve the funds.

In total, Summerfield received more than $400,000 in PPP and EIDL funding, which he used for personal expenses unrelated to his businesses or to any authorized purposes under the programs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.