A member of one of the most renowned gospel music empires has been accused of scamming churchgoers out of millions of dollars. Michael Winans Jr. used his family’s prestigious name and church connections to set up a Ponzi scheme in the Detroit area.
Winans told 180 investors that if they invested $1,000 to $7,000 in crude oil bonds in Saudi Arabia, their investments would double.
However, the bonds never existed. According to Michigan’s Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation, Winans may have made close to $11 million from the scam. Although no criminal charges have been filed, bank records have been turned over to prosecutors in Detroit.
