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Defendant Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Defrauding Religious Organization
U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Charles Jon David (58, Jacksonville) to 33 months in federal prison for wire fraud and tax fraud. The court also ordered David to forfeit $273,500, representing the proceeds of the wire fraud, and to pay $273,000 in restitution to the victim of the wire fraud and approximately $111,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
David had pleaded guilty on April 9, 2021, for his role in defrauding a Jacksonville-area religious organization. According to court documents, from February 2008 until July 2019, David was employed as the Director of Building and Construction by the religious organization.
David’s role and responsibilities included overseeing sales of land belonging to the religious organization. David had a fiduciary duty to the religious organization to act in its financial best interests and to protect its assets in conducting these land sales. He understood that it would be a conflict of interest for him to receive compensation from a third-party in connection with these land sales.
However, beginning in 2013, David engaged in a scheme to defraud the religious organization. David offered the organization’s land for sale exclusively to two individuals, excluding other potential purchasers. In exchange for giving that preference to those individuals, they paid David kickbacks totaling $229,500. After the two individuals purchased the land, they resold it at a significant profit.
David admitted that he sold the religious organization’s land for at least $229,500 less than it was worth. David did not disclose the kickbacks to the religious organization and used at least $72,000 of the kickbacks to fund mortgage payments and settlement costs associated with real property owned by his wife.
The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor. The case demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to hold accountable those who use illegal means and criminal behavior to take advantage of others.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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