POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A Broward County pastor has been arrested on multiple charges after he defrauded a church to support his drug habit, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Wednesday.
According to the FDLE, James Edward Smith II, 49, of Lauderhill, was the pastor of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Pompano Beach.
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Agents began investigating him last April after they said they received complaints from parishioners and church founders.
According to an FDLE news release, Smith fraudulently gained control over the church and church funds by filing a forged quit claim deed, “allowing him to assume complete control of the church property and then sold it for $600,000, using the money to support a drug habit.”
Smith was taken into custody Tuesday on charges of organized scheme to defraud, fraud, grand theft, criminal use of personal identification information, unlawful filing of false document records against real or personal property, grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violation of probation.
FDLE agents said Smith also faces charges from the Broward Sheriff’s Office in connection with the case for larceny and “fraud associated with worthless checks totaling more than $1,600 written on the church’s bank account.”
According to authorities, Smith’s home was searched at the time of his arrest and he was found to be in possession of heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and a stolen gun. Additional charges are pending.
As of Wednesday morning, Smith was being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail.