Six of the church sales had been through the approval process. However, the attorney general’s office then became aware that the documents used to gain approval had been altered afterward. That led to an investigation which found that Ingram and Wilson had used their leadership positions for personal gain, shepherding the sales through the approval process, which required a vote by the congregation’s leaders, the local district and the statewide annual conference, led by Ingram.
Before his retirement in 2020, Ingram played a prominent role in the AME, serving as host bishop for the denomination’s 200th anniversary.
As church leaders, Ingram and Wilson were charged with protecting the church property —which according to AME rules is held in trust for the denomination. New York state law requires that nonprofit leaders recuse themselves from any transactions in which they have a personal interest.
According to the settlement, Ingram misused his authority because he “authorized or caused to be authorized what were supposed to be arms-length sale transactions to the Developer with full knowledge of the personal financial benefits he was receiving from the Developer at the same time.”
Wilson turned down a job offer from Vahdat, according to his settlement, saying that staying in his leadership role at the church would be better.
“My thought is that it would be more beneficial TO YOU for me to continue working as a Presiding Elder/Minister, because this position and title gives me entree’ into many places,” he wrote in an email to the developer quoted in the settlement.
As part of his settlement, Wilson agreed to repay $200,000 in restitution over a period of 10 years, in quarterly payments of $4,750, with an additional $101,075 in restitution suspended. If he pays off the first $200,000 on time, he will not have to pay back the suspended amount.
Ingram agreed to pay back $610,000, including an initial payment of $120,000 and the remaining amount due by 2023. Vahdat also agreed to fulfill his contractual agreements with the churches or allow them to back out of their contracts.
The two are barred from holding leadership positions in any nonprofit but can remain as ministers under the settlements.
All the settlements, which were signed in 2021, remain in force, according to a spokesman from the attorney general’s office.
A former bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church — a separate denomination from the AME — was indicted early this year in connection with $14 million in alleged fraud from the sale of church buildings. Staccato Powell was “disrobed” in a 2021 church trial for allegedly altering church deeds and transferring them to an entity he controlled.
This article originally appeared here.
