Pentecostal Pastor Charged With Hiding $100,000 From Feds
Jerry Cox, a 72-year-old Louisiana Pentecostal pastor who reportedly lives in a multimillion-dollar mansion, has been charged with structuring over $100,000 in financial transactions to avoid federal reporting requirements.
According to the Bill of Information, in September 2011, Cox “made, and caused to be made,” a series of cash withdrawals from Citizens Savings Bank and Resource Bank. The feds charge he aimed to “evade certain reporting requirements” under federal law, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans.
Cox is the pastor of Faith Tabernacle Church in Franklinton, Louisiana. He was not immediately available for comment but previously hung up on a reporter from the New Orleans Advocate, the paper reports.
“Cox did so as part of a pattern of activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period,” a statement from the attorney’s office reads. “Specifically, Cox caused a series of seven withdrawals between Sept. 20, 2011 and Oct. 11, 2011, in amounts between $7,650 and $9,500.”
If he’s convicted, Cox could spend the next 10 years in prison, followed up by three years of supervised release. That’s on top of a maximum $250,000 fine.
