A prominent former Methodist minister from Houston was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison followed by one year of supervised release for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Kirbyjon Caldwell, who was a spiritual advisor to former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush and led Windsor Village United Methodist Church, was also ordered to pay $3,588,500 restitution as well as a fine of $125,000. The sentence was handed down by United States District
Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr.
“The defendants in this case abused the trust that the victims had placed in them,” Acting United States Attorney Alexander Van Hook said in a statement. “This defendant used his status as the pastor of a megachurch to help convince the many victim investors that they were making a legitimate investment but instead he took their hard-earned money from them and used it for his own personal gain. This office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who scheme and prey upon the elderly and
Kirbyjon Caldwell (R), senior pastor at the 15,000-member Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas, and his personal attorney Dan Cogdell address members on Sunday April 1, 2018. | (Screenshots: Facebook)
Prominent Houston Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, who served as a spiritual adviser to former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday, just under a year after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a multimillion-dollar investment scheme.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a release that in addition to serving six years in prison, Caldwell, who formerly led the Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas, will also serve one additional year of supervised release.