Texas Man Pleads Guilty To Scamming Church Of Millions Meant For Hurricane Repairs
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. (Photo courtesy of albanygeorgia.blogspot.com)
A Texas man has pleaded guilty to scamming a Georgia church out of millions of dollars, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
Authorities say the man posed as an insurance adjuster to defraud a church that was seeking to fix damage caused by Hurricane Michael in 2018.
Andrew Mitchell, also called “Andrew Aga,” pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicated. He reportedly cheated Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, out of money that was supposed to be paid out to the church by its insurance company for facility repairs.
Mitchell faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, followed by at least three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine. The court hasn’t set a date for his sentencing.
“It is disheartening to see someone willing to defraud a place of worship in the wake of a major natural disaster,” acting U.S. Attorney Shanelle Booker said in the press release. “Its congregation trusted the defendant and all those involved to act lawfully and help them repair their historic downtown facility after Hurricane Michael.”
Church repairs left unfinished
Hurricane Michael, a Category 3 hurricane with winds up to 115 miles per hour and intense rainfall, damaged Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in 2018, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
An initial inspection found the church had sustained at least $216,000 in damages. The church’s insurance company, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, paid out more than $183,000 that year to cover partial repairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicated.
A construction company showed up soon after that and convinced church leaders to hire its services and Mitchell, who was posing as a public adjuster, to maximize the insurance settlement and carry out repairs, Mitchell’s 2024 indictment shows.
From 2018 on, Mitchell acted as a point of contact between the church and the insurance company, submitting false claims and repair estimates to the organizations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
In 2019, he sent the insurance company five fake repair estimates on behalf the church, ranging from $2 million to $7 million, according to the indictment.
The insurance company issued a check to the church and Mitchell for $3.3 million in July 2019. Authorities say Mitchell manipulated the company and then forged information on the check to make it payable to himself.
In 2020, Mitchell created a fraudulent $18.6 million contract between the church and a construction company. Both the church’s pastor and the company deny signing or receiving a contract like this, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In total, the insurance company issued checks for more than $6.8 million to the church for hurricane repairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Because of Mitchell’s involvement with the church, the church received less than a third of the proceeds paid out by Brotherhood Mutual for damages.
In addition, authorities say the construction company did not even fully repair the church facilities because Mitchell lied to the contractors, claiming the insurance company wouldn’t pay them more money.
“At a time when victims were still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Michael, Andrew Mitchell took advantage of that vulnerability for his own personal gain,” Georgia Insurance Commissioner John F. King said in the press release.
Mitchell’s history of scams
Mitchell is currently in prison for other similar scams, according to Claims Journal.
Mitchell faced similar charges in 2023 for cheating Louisiana and Texas homeowners, churches, and others of insurance payments. He allegedly pocketed almost $600,000 from scamming homeowners living in the Louisiana parishes of St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, Orleans and Tangipahoa, which had sustained property damage from Hurricane Ida.
Mitchell was sentenced to 20 years for those crimes, Claims Journal reported.
This article has been republished with permission from The Roys Report.
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.