Two self-proclaimed religious leaders were arrested Wednesday on federal charges after allegedly exploiting followers through forced labor and using millions in donations to fund lavish lifestyles.
David Taylor, 53, was apprehended in Durham, North Carolina, while Michelle Brannon, 56, was taken into custody in Tampa, Florida. They face charges of forced labor and money laundering for an alleged scheme that started around 2018 and lasted until at least last month.
A federal 10-count indictment alleges the pair forced followers to work unpaid in “call centers” soliciting daily donations across Michigan, Florida, Texas, and Missouri for Kingdom of God Global Church, formerly Joshua Media Ministries International.
Taylor reportedly referred to himself as “Apostle” and “Jesus’ Best Friend,” and claimed to have frequent face-to-face encounters with God. Some followers were even forced into servitude roles as Taylor’s “armor bearers,” providing him personal services around the clock.
Authorities say Taylor and Brannon, who described herself as the former’s Executive Director, exerted extreme control over their followers’ lives. Victims were forced to sleep in call center facilities or at “ministry” housing, and weren’t allowed to leave without the permission of the accused.
Taylor also “demanded that his armor bearers transport women from ministry houses, airports, and other locations to Taylor’s location and ensured the women transported to Taylor took Plan B emergency contraceptives,” the Department of Justice said.
At the call centers, unobtainable donation goals were assigned, and victims were subjected to physical and psychological abuses if they failed, according to the DOJ. This included sleep deprivation, forced repentance, food and shelter restrictions, public humiliation, and threats of divine retribution.
In 2021, Taylor allegedly ordered church call center workers via text to raise $50,000 before midnight, saying the top nine performers could sleep while the others had to “study notes” until 4 a.m. and eat only soup, salad and water.
“My next level of judgment is that it won’t be to just 4 a.m. it will be every hour you waste in the day will be added on past 4 a.m.!” Taylor wrote, according to the indictment, The News & Observer reports. “TELL THEM ALL TO STAND NOW AND YOU THROW WATER IN THEIR FACES! Especially the people not doing anything or helping bring in the money! You tell them I don’t care about them being sick!!”
“Money laundering is tax evasion in progress, and in this case, the proceeds funded an alleged human trafficking ring and supported a luxury lifestyle under the guise of a religious ministry,” Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd of IRS Criminal Investigation, Detroit Field Office, said in a news release.
The DOJ estimates that the Taylor collected approximately $50 million in donations since 2014, funds allegedly used by the accused to acquire luxury properties, vehicles, including a Mercedes, a Rolls-Royce, ATVs, jet skis, and bulletproof cars, and even seafood worth more than $10,000.
Federal agents also raided multiple church-owned properties, including a Houston facility where 17 people were removed from a former hotel, and mansions in Tampa and Ocala, seeking additional evidence of money laundering and labor exploitation.
Federal officials are leading the prosecution. The DOJ’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, alongside the Eastern District of Michigan, will handle the case.
Taylor is set to appear in court in Durham on Thursday, while Brannon will appear in Tampa.
