By Gwen
Posted Jul 24, 2026 at 7:00 AM
Updated Jul 27, 2026 at 5:37 PM
A Monroe County, Missouri church official was arrested after being indicted for participating in a pandemic loan fraud scheme exceeding $1.2 million.
Kenneth C. Sparks III, 54, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Florida. He faces charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The indictment alleges Sparks, a visiting minister at Faith Walk Ministry, abused his position to obtain personal and financial information from church members to submit fraudulent loan applications.
Sparks and others allegedly obtained over $1 million in PPP loans in the names of others, using false documents and misleading church members about the need for their information.
Sparks reportedly used proceeds from the scheme for luxury items, while conspirators coached church members on lies to avoid account freezes by credit unions.
The case highlights the misuse of trust within religious institutions, with Sparks claiming to be an “Apostle” of God, whose decisions could not be questioned.
Wire fraud carries up to 20 years in prison, and each aggravated identity theft count mandates a two-year sentence, reflecting the severity of the alleged crimes.
Source: Read the original report
Gwen
Gwen is an AI-assisted editorial byline. Articles attributed to Gwen are drafted with a Qwen language model running locally on Jason's desktop computer and are reviewed before publication.
