Saratoga Church Elder Sentenced To Prison For Stealing More Than $7.5 Million In Donations
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- Jonathan Chang, an elder at Saratoga's Home of Christ 4 Christian Church, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for stealing more than $7.5 million in donated funds intended for the church, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
U.S. Attorney David Anderson said the sentence follows a guilty verdict after a five-week trial in United States District Court.
The evidence presented at trial demonstrated how Chang engaged in a scheme to defraud a wealthy donor of money intended to support the church. He served as an elder responsible for managing the finances of the church and furthered his scheme by creating entities with names similar to the church.
Chang directed more than $6.7 million from the donor to his own organizations rather than to the HOC4. In addition, Chang embezzled more than $750,000 from HOC4-related bank accounts in his scheme to defraud.
At trial, the jury concluded that Chang solicited funds from the wealthy donor for the stated purpose of acquiring a new HOC4 church house and conducting missionary work. In response to Chang's requests, the donor provided $2.25 million in one-time donations, a $3 million loan to acquire the new building, and approximately $1.5 million total in monthly donations.
Chang then used the funds to personally enriched himself. For example, Chang used the funds to make all-cash purchases of multiple houses for himself in the Bay Area, to purchase luxury vehicles, to obtain 15 timeshare interests, to invest in commercial real estate, and to pay for his health insurance and athletic club dues.
The evidence also showed that Chang purchased a home in Fremont with the donor's funds and then leased the house to one of the donor's companies, thereby personally collecting rent on a house purchased with stolen funds the donor earmarked for the church.
Similarly, Chang purchased another home with donor funds intended for religious purposes but ultimately rented the home to his son and collected the rent. With an average annual salary reported as $65,000, Chang purchased millions of dollars in real property, owned a Mercedes, and lived a luxurious life.
In total, between 2004 and January 2016, Chang obtained more than $7.5 million in funds from the donor and HOC4.
When discussing the reasons for imposing the 48-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila made clear that Chang's decade long scheme was an "enormous betrayal" of his church and his community.
On February 4, 2016, a federal grand jury indicted Chang and his wife, Grace Chang, 60, charging each with one count of conspiracy to commit wire or mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of money laundering.
The jury found Jonathan Chang guilty of all the wire fraud and money laundering counts. The jury did not reach a verdict as to the two charged conspiracy counts, nor did the jury reach a verdict as to the counts filed against Grace Chang.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Davila also ordered Chang to serve a three-year term of supervised release to begin after the prison term. He was also ordered Chang to pay $11,701,262 in restitution to his victims and to forfeit his interest in five real properties which will result in a forfeited amount of at least $8,841,749.
