Anthony L. Jinwright Starring as a Pulpit Pimp

The Charlotte Obeserver reports: The leader of two Charlotte-area churches was accused Tuesday of evading several hundred thousand dollars in taxes while spending lavishly on travel and luxury cars – including a $175,000 Bentley GT he leased from 2005 to 2008.

Read the indictment (.pdf)

Pastor's indictment

A federal grand jury in Charlotte indicted Bishop Anthony L. Jinwright on 14 counts – including filing false tax returns, tax evasion, mail fraud and making false statements to federal agents.

Jinwright, 52, heads Greater Salem City of God in west Charlotte and Greater Salem at the Lake in Cornelius. Together they draw about 2,000 people, said an official at the Charlotte church.

Jinwright, who also owns funeral homes in Charlotte and Pineville, has written a book about partnering with the Holy Spirit called “Rise Up: Breaking Free into Anointed Living.” His church Web site advertises a radio show called “The Wright Word,” which airs Sundays at 6:30 a.m.

The indictment says Jinwright and his wife's expenses were too great for the income listed on their joint tax returns from 2001-2006.

“Defendant accumulated a number of luxury assets and enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle which far exceeded his reported taxable income for those years,” the court document said.

On Tuesday, Jinwright's Lexus SUV – with a vanity plate reading “JIN'S SUV” – was parked in a reserved spot at the Greater Salem City of God off Brookshire Freeway.

Bishop Alan Porter, who said he was the church's executive pastor, told an Observer reporter at the church that Jinwright was unavailable for an interview about the charges.

“We have no comment at this time,” he said, adding: “Trust in God.”

Indictment numbers

The 16-page indictment says Jinwright failed to report $875,000 in taxable income for him and his wife, Harriet Porter-Jinwright. She is listed on the church Web site as a co-pastor, but is not charged.

The indictment alleges Jinwright owes from $200,000 to $400,000 in unpaid federal and state income taxes.

The indictment also details salary and reimbursements of $3.1 million for Jinwright from the church from 2001-2006. It also lists more than $400,000 in income from speaking engagements and book sales.

Jinwright's personal expenditures include $198,000 in total car lease payments from 2001 to the present, according to the indictment. The vehicles listed: a BMW 530i, a Mercedes-Benz S550V, five Lexus vehicles and a Maybach 57 – billed as a luxury sedan with a 550-horsepower engine and worth about a quarter of a million dollars. More HERE

Now get this, this man is now asking for help.

News 14 reports The Charlotte minister accused of tax evasion says he is innocent, and he's turning to the faith community for support.

Anthony Jinwright, 52, has been a senior pastor at Greater Salem Church in Charlotte since 1981.

He spoke there Thursday night in front of congregation members for more than two hours.

Everyone was tight-lipped about the case and security was on hand to protect members from commenting.

Tuesday, Jinwright was indicted on 14 counts ranging from tax evasion to tax perjury, lying to federal agents and mail fraud. Authorities say he failed to report nearly $1 million of income from 2001 to 2006 and owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes for those years.

"I am not guilty of such allegations," Jinwright said in a statement. "No evidence to support these charges has been presented to me and I therefore await my day in court."

He went on to say he was "saddened by the indictment, the members of Greater Salem Church have surrounded my family and me from the initial investigation in prayer, love and support." More HERE

AAPP says: I'm sure the blog Pulpit Pimps is covering this one. I continue to wonder when black folks will begin to pull the covers off of these Pulpit Pimps rather than waiting for the law to get them?