DETROIT (WWJ) -- Two self-professed religious leaders operating a call center in Metro Detroit have been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for running a "forced labor operation."
The FBI was on the scene at a Downriver church, in connection with the investigation into what's alleged to be a human trafficking ring spanning several states, including Michigan.
The FBI confirms that agents were involved in an operation underway late Wednesday morning at Joshua Media Ministries International - Kingdom of God Global Church on Superior Rd., near Allen Rd. and I-75, in Taylor. Michigan State Police and local police were also on the scene.
FBI raids took place the same day at a Joshua Media Ministries International Church in Houston, and a mansion owned by JMMI in Tampa, Florida. At least two people were taken out in handcuffs at the Houston location.
As for what this is about: According to an indictment provided to WWJ Newsradio 950 by the Eastern District of Michigan, 53-year-old David Taylor and 56-year-old Michelle Brannon were arrested Wednesday in North Carolina and Florida in what authorities are calling a takedown of a forced labor organization.
The two are accused of running a call center at the facility in the city of Taylor, south of Detroit, where they controlled every aspect of the lives of the workers.
If victims disobeyed an order or failed to reach his monetary goals, the indictment states that David Taylor and Michelle Brannon punished the victims with public humiliation, food and shelter restrictions, psychological abuse, sleep deprivation, physical assaults, and threats of divine judgment in the form of sickness, accidents, and "eternal damnation."
The pair is being charged with Conspiracy to Commit Forced Labor, Forced Labor, and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering following the investigation that spanned the operation that spanned Michigan, Florida, Texas, and Missouri.
“The indictment of David Taylor and Michelle Brannon demonstrates the FBI’s steadfast efforts to protect the American people from human exploitation and financial crimes, including forced labor and money laundering,” said Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. in a news release.
“The alleged actions are deeply troubling. I want to thank the members of
the FBI Detroit Field Office, with strong support from our federal and agency partners in the FBI Tampa Field Office, FBI Jacksonville Field Office, FBI St. Louis Field Office, FBI Charlotte Field Office, FBI Houston Field Office, and the Detroit IRS-CI Field Office, in addition to several local, county and state law enforcement partners, for their role in executing this multi-state operation."
The feds say KOGGC/JMMI received millions of dollars in donations each year through its call centers.
It's alleged Taylor and Brannon used the money to purchase luxury properties, luxury vehicles, and sporting equipment such as a boat, jet skis, and ATVs.
In total, the feds say Taylor received around $50 million in donations since 2014.
Taylor was scheduled to appear in court in North Carolina, and Brannon in Tampa, Florida, both on Wednesday.
Taylor and Brannon face decades in prison, as well as hefty fines, if they're convicted as charged.
“Combating human trafficking is a top priority for the Department of Justice,” added Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to relentlessly pursuing and ending this scourge and obtaining justice for the victims.”