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Posted on Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 5:18 p.m.

Men convicted of scamming churches out of hundreds of thousands of dollars

By Lee Higgins

A jury in Wayne County convicted two Maryland men of bilking 21 black churches across Michigan — including three in Ypsilanti — out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, a state attorney general's office news release said.

Michael J. Morris, 30, of Waldorf, and William T. Perkins, 55, of Oxon Hill, were each convicted of conducting a criminal enterprise, conspiracy to commit false pretenses and three counts of false pretenses over $20,000.

Michael_Morris.jpg

Michael Morris

Total losses in the scheme were estimated at $660,000, the release said.

Authorities say Morris and Perkins offered to provide electronic kiosks free of charge to the churches for use in religious education, community events and fundraising.

The churches' pastors were told a "national sponsor" would cover the costs in exchange for advertising that would run on the machines. They were then convinced to sign leases on each kiosk, authorities said.

Thumbnail image for Willie_Perkins.jpg

Willie Perkins

In reality, the churches unknowingly became responsible for the full purchase price of the kiosk, authorities said.

Leasing companies paid Morris and Perkins approximately $27,000 for each of the kiosks, but because there was no "national sponsor" to make the payments, the leasing companies later demanded payment directly from the churches, the release said.

In some cases, the release said, contracts allowed leasing companies to take funds directly from church bank accounts, leaving them in economic distress.

Churches in Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Inkster, Ferndale, Highland Park, and Port Huron also were scammed, the release said.

In Ypsilanti, the affected churches were Grace Fellowship Church of God in Christ, Mount Olive Church of God in Christ, and Whitehead Memorial Church of God in Christ.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6.

Comments

ak3647

Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 3:49 p.m.

dading, I don't see why you keep having an issue with it. If the perpetrators SPECIFICALLY targeted historically black churches (which it appears they did), then mentioning that fact is 100% relevant to the article and should be included. "Area churches" isn't very specific, some of us readers would like to know the full story.

walker101

Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 12:06 p.m.

So much for the liberal news media, black churches, OMG I can't believe this is coming from this white All American #1 City that toots their own horn every other week about how great this place is, for a minute I thought I was back in Georgia or Mississippi. No political correctness in this article.

KeepingItReal

Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 9:04 a.m.

@AK3647. Thanks for shedding light on why we use the phrase "Black church" to refer to the place of worship for most blacks in America. It has often been stated on many occasions that Sunday morning in America is the most segregated time in this country. Dading; If the article had simply mentioned area churches, we would not have had any perspective on the matter, just like when a crime is committed and the race of the individual(s)is not mentioned. We automatically assume whom the perpetrator is.

Forever27

Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 7:53 a.m.

So much for Omniscience.

dading dont delete me bro

Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 5:27 a.m.

@ak3647, i was trying to make a point as to why point out what type of churches they were in that manner, if at all. why couldn't it be said simply, "area churches"? if that was said, i don't think differences needed to be pointed out. i am aware of u.s. history, but thank you.

racerx

Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 2:30 a.m.

I'm lost. If the leasing companies paid these two men $27K, how isn't the Leasing Cos. responsible too? Or, did these two men purchase the kiosks from the leasing companies? Who are the leasing companies, and why no mention of the names of the companies? Or, is it a better story to present pictures of two black men? If a leasing company has $27K to pay these two men, I highly doubt that the leasing company is black owned. Still, it's a better story to post pictures of two black men without delving more into the story. @davidian-am I the only one who gets the reference of it being "ironic" that the churches were bilked? LOL! @ak3647-thanks for the education for those who needed it!

Patricia Cockrell

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 11:01 p.m.

Interesting comments here tonight. I'm familiar with dading's point of view but I certainly see ak3647's point as well. In many, if not most cases, the white churches in America failed to understand the teachings of Jesus Christ and, wittingly or unwittingly, dedicated themselves to protecting the white status quo instead of fighting the good fight. More than 20 years ago we founded the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, here in Ann Arbor, hoping to build a community church which honored, respected and learned from the experiences of all who came to worship. What we have today is an encouraging mix of black and white, as well as old & young, gay & straight... even devout as well as doubting. Still a 'work in progress', It certainly would never have happened without honoring and studying the remarkable journey of the historically black churches who summoned the sheer tenacity, faith and strength of purpose to move forward against all odds. These churches were the birthplace of of the civil rights movement which sought to redeem our broken nation. So, churches built on a commitment to this particular understanding of the faith don't happen easily. it takes a whole lot more than a membership drive to grow that kind of community, and frankly most don't want to venture outside their comfort zones.

ak3647

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 9:57 p.m.

dading, Maybe you should read up on historical Black Protestant Churches. In case you didn't know, up until 1865, there was this thing called "slavery" and then up until the 1960's, there was this things called "Jim Crow" and what that did was prohibit black people from setting foot in white churches. So ~300 years of slavery plus 100 years of Jim Crow led blacks to create their own churches (out of necessity) and along with this came their own form of religious culture that was unique to African-Americans and persists to this day as an ingrained part of religiosity within the black community. So before you talk about blacks perpetuating "racial tensions", you might want to educate yourself as to the history of Black churches and why they exist in the first place.

Davidian

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 7:47 p.m.

The churches got scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Am I the only one who finds this ironic?

quetzalcoatl

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 7:05 p.m.

I notice these lowlife scamsters preyed on churches in poor cities like Detroit, Flint, Highland Park, Inkster, Ferndale and Port Huron before they met making the dreadful mistake of tangling with the elite law enforcement community that protects Ypsilanti. Alert readers of annarbor.com know Washtenaw County has invested almost $100 million this year in law enforcement, and I think we should know who prosecuted these banditos and which of our intrepid officers from the police departments of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Scio Township and Pittsfield Township, or from the Washtenaw Sheriff's Department Department should get credit for the bust. Otherwise, we might think they were too busy chasing homeless medical mairjuana users out of the county to concentrate on this huge crime. What about it? Who gets the credit?

jameslucas

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 6:47 p.m.

What law did these men break? Our economy runs on these kinds of private sectors contracts. This is just like the government to step in and restrict free enterprise, the only way we are going to grow our new service economy is with jobs like these, well paying jobs.

nickcarraweigh

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 6:31 p.m.

"At 11 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation. This is tragic." Martin Luther King, 1963, Western Michigan University Willful ignorance may be not tragic, but it is pretty sad.

Michigan Reader

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 5:36 p.m.

Didn't the person responsible for signing the lease (at the church) READ it, at least the critical provisions? Buyer beware! Or did they think God would let them off the hook?

1bigbud

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 5:18 p.m.

I guess i should say 1 of our own got us again And let the readers fig. it out

1bigbud

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 5:15 p.m.

thanks dading Is it 1 black that makes it a black church or 100 blacks I cant ever remember it being said a white church or a almost white or 1/2 B/W Is the AA news Profiling

dading dont delete me bro

Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 5:07 p.m.

question, what makes a "...black churches..."? i got to a church where, traditionally, there are not many african-americans. however, i wouldn't call it a 'white' church. can't start to knock down the racial tensions in this country, if we find them in everyday reading/print.