NC preacher bought his cars and $1 million home in a tax fraud scheme, jury says

A former Charlotte-area preacher was convicted of tax fraud by a federal jury Thursday.

William Todd Coontz, 51, was indicted last summer for failure to pay taxes and aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns.

Federal prosecutors said Coontz under-reported his income by claiming certain items as business expenses for his ministry or one of his companies.

He used substantial amounts of money from his business to pay for personal items, including more than $200,000 for clothes and $140,000 for meals, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Coontz also claimed his $1.5 million condominium was a business expense, as well as luxury cars, including three BMWs, two Ferraris, a Maserati and a Land Rover, prosecutors said.

He engaged in a check-cashing scheme involving reimbursements for travel to speaking events. Coontz would claim the travel as a business expense while pocketing the reimbursement as personal income, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Coontz concealed the reimbursement by having his assistant direct ministries to make checks payable directly to him. He would then cash the check and deposit it in a bank account, the release states.

From 2010 to 2013, Coontz concealed and cashed 102 checks for reimbursements, speeches and book sales, totaling at least $252,000, according to the release. In 2014, he cashed at least 32 checks totaling about $105,000, the release said.

From 2000 to 2014, Coontz filed delinquent U.S. income tax returns with the IRS, the release states, and he "consistently failed" to make payments on time for taxes he owed, despite multiple notices from the IRS.

Coontz was minister of Rock Wealth International Ministries from 2010 to 2014, and ran two for-profit companies, Legacy Media and Coontz Investments and Insurance, according to a release.

He also authored multiple books on faith and finances, including "Please Don't Repo My Car," and "Breaking the Spirit of Debt."

Failing to pay taxes carries a maximum prison sentence of one year per count, while aiding and assisting the filing of false tax returns has a maximum sentence of three years per count.

This story was originally published April 5, 2018 at 5:33 PM with the headline "NC preacher bought his cars and $1 million home in a tax fraud scheme, jury says."