DUBLIN, Ga. (WJBF) – A Georgia man is on the run and facing multiple federal charges alleging that he misdirected over $30 million in charitable donations intended for a Christian ministry in China.
45-year-old Jason Gerald Shenk is charged with four counts of Wire Fraud, three counts of International Concealment Money Laundering, 13 counts of Concealment Money Laundering, 21 counts of Money Laundering Involving Transactions Greater than $10,000 and one count of Failure to File Report of Foreign Bank Account.
Investigators said Shenk executed a scheme that involved obtaining millions in donations from faith-based charities and individual donors from religious communities in Ohio and North Carolina. He reportedly did so on the promise of funding the production and distribution of Bibles and Christian literature in China.
The funds were reportedly directed to a variety of shell corporations.
The indictment alleges Shenk diverted a large amount of the funds for his own use, including:
- Payments of approximately $1 million to an online sports gambling website
- Purchases of equity shares of approximately $850,000 in a privately held nuclear energy company
- Approximately $4 million in purchases of at least 16 life insurance policies in various people’s names
- Purchases of diamonds, gold, and precious metals in amounts totaling approximately $1 million
- Purchases of domestic and foreign stocks totaling more than $188,000
- Payments of approximately $7 million to the company running Shenk’s family farm
- Purchases on at least 10 personal credit cards totaling more than $820,000
- Purchases of $320,000 in real estate in the “Galt’s Gulch” development in Santiago, Chile
Shenk reportedly ran the scheme from April 2010 to July 2019. He reportedly renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2016 to avoid financial reporting requirements under federal law.
Companies that served as conduits for these donations include:
- Morning Star Ministries, with a bank account in Dublin, Ga.
- Connect Connect Asia BV, with multiple bank accounts in Singapore
- CLF Asia Limited, owner of a bank account in Hong Kong
- Autumnvale Group Limited, owner of multiple bank accounts in Singapore
- BCB International LLC, an entity registered in Georgia with bank accounts in the United States
- Heartland Plantations LLC, an entity registered in Georgia with bank accounts in the United States
- Global Paradigm LTD, an entity associated with bank accounts in the United States
- Shenkland LLC, an entity registered in North Carolina and owner of bank accounts in the United States.
If you believe you sent money directly or indirectly to Jason Gerald Shenk or one of the entities listed above, please contact federal authorities at 478-752-6810
If you have information regarding the whereabouts of Jason Gerald Shenk, please contact federal authorities at the same number listed above.
