Gainesville Sun 9-28-2001
Minister is guilty of fraud
The Associated Press
Tallahassee – A former Indiana minister has
pleaded guilty to using fake identities to steal more than $1 million from a
Florida state agency responsible for handling unclaimed estates.
Kevin Lee McDonald, 41, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in
Tallahassee to two counts of mail fraud and was ordered to repay the state of
Florida more than $1.42 million.
McDonald, the former pastor of Temple Congregational Church in Marion,
Ind., faces up to 10- years in prison and a $500,000 fine at his Dec. 6
sentencing hearing.
The FBI arrested McDonald July 18 in Marion on charges that he bilked
the Florida Department of Banking and Finance, which holds unclaimed estate
property, out of at least $1.2 million.
The FBI said McDonald bought a state database of unclaimed estate
property available to the public on the Internet and CD-ROM then used false
names to claim the money.
