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The Southern California church pastor was arrested for allegedly stealing more than $230,000 through a wire fraud scheme targeting friends.
According to the US Lawyer’s office, the 60-year-old also known as “Tony Elliott,” also known as “Tony Elliott,” was arrested Thursday and charged with 11 count wire fraud.
Elliott is a pastor at San Bernardino Church and a former political candidate for the San Bernardino City Council. He is accused of committing several fraudulent jobs targeting nonprofits linked to a longtime friend and another church, officials said.
According to the indictment, Elliott reportedly told the victims who worked for the San Bernardino city government and were involved in the San Bernardino police station.
His first victim was a friend and was only identified in court documents as “MC.” Elliott is said to have persuaded women to put them in the trust that they manage and manage the money they have inherited. He falsely claimed that if she received the inheritance directly, she would lose Medicare and Social Security benefits, prosecutors said.
He prepared a trust agreement and appointed himself as a joint trust. He reportedly opened a bank account in the trust name and gave the bank a false copy of the contract that he said was solely authorized to make payments from the account.
He then wrote a check and made an online transfer to a church identified as “Church A.” He also used the funds to purchase mail orders to pay church rent. The remaining money is said to have been used for personal expenses such as purchasing Nike sneakers, repairing pianos, clothing, vehicle, and extended motorcycle warranty.
Elliott has been accused of gaining access to the MC’s account at another bank, where he earns around $27,164 on the fraudulent transfer of monthly Social Security payments to the church.
“When the victim’s family asked Elliot about the trust account or asked for a bank statement, he was upset and settled on compliance by telling him everything was in control,” the court document said.
When MC passed away, prosecutors said Elliott targeted the second victim identified as “WH” and targeted him to pay around $8,615 for MC’s funeral. He falsely argued that approval from the judge must be required before the money from the trust account was released.
Through the scheme, Elliott has scamned four victims, including MC and WH, of at least $150,263, officials said.
In another scheme between June 2021 and February 2023, Elliot advised WH on the sale of the house. After selling WH the house, Elliott proposed the victim’s corporate loan MC trust $65,000, falsely claiming this would help him avoid paying capital gains tax from the sale.
He prepared a loan agreement and told them that the company would transfer $65,000 to the trust account, and that the trust would pay off the loan with 10% annual interest. He also allegedly persuaded WH to provide some signed blank checks from the corporate account.
Instead of honouring the contract, Elliott used a blank check to make a transfer to Church A. He reportedly never repayed a portion of the $65,000 loan and instead spent money on personal expenses.
From September 2018 to June 2021, Elliott used his relationship with the Church’s board to manage legal costs and other expenses involving different churches, “Church B,” and other expenses involving nonprofits.
Elliott reportedly lied to the nonprofit by charging WH’s Corporation the money it paid for services, including lawsuits. The nonprofit has issued about 32 checks. Elliott deposited it into an account he managed and scams about $23,300.
In total, he is accused of fraudulenting around $238,563 through these schemes, prosecutors said. He was charged with 11 count wire fraud. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison for each count.
The case remains under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Authorities believe there may be additional casualties that have not yet been identified.
Anyone with information about the case will be asked to call the FBI at 310-477-6565 or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.
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