Joshua Edwards, the son of ASLAN International Ministry founder Evan Edwards, who was arrested along with his father in 2020 for fraudulently receiving $8.4 million through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, was sentenced to 51 months in prison by a federal judge on Tuesday for charges related to mail and visa fraud.
In an indictment announced by the Justice Department in December 2022, Joshua Edwards, 35, and his father, both Canadian citizens, were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and visa fraud. Joshua Edwards was also charged with making a false statement to a lending institution.
Both father and son were facing a maximum penalty of 30 years each in federal prison on the conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud charges. They were also facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count related to visa fraud. Joshua Edwards, who had also been charged with making a false statement to authorities, faced an additional maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for that count.
Court records show, however, that all charges against Evan Edwards were dismissed in March after he was found incompetent to stand trial due to “moderate to severe dementia and significant and permanent cognitive deficits.” As part of a plea deal that month, Joshua Edwards also pleaded guilty to attempted and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and fraud and misuse of visa permits. The bank fraud charges were dismissed.
In a May 26 filing, Joshua Edwards’ attorney, Andrew C. Searle, asked U.S. District Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe of the Middle District of Florida to sentence his client to no more than 36 months in prison.
“In the plea agreement, the government has agreed to recommend a term of imprisonment of 36 months, which is the equivalent of time served,” Searle wrote. “The government’s recommendation recognizes the obvious – that Mr. Edwards, a man with no criminal convictions who played a limited role in the offense, has already suffered sufficient punishment for his crimes.”
Federal authorities said Edwards submitted an application for Paycheck Protection Program funds, claiming that ASLAN was a family-run religious ministry in Florida with 486 employees.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the now-shuttered PPP program allowed churches and other religious ministries that employed 500 or fewer people to request a federal loan equal to 2.5 times their average monthly payroll. The loans, along with a 1% interest, were forgiven by the government as long as 75% of the funds were used to cover payroll expenses in the eight weeks after the ministries received the funds.
Investigators found that ASLAN was not involved in any religious work, and the only people found to be associated with the project were Joshua Edwards, his parents and his older sister.
Court records show that the family tried to spend some of the funds on a $3.71 million house in Disney World’s Golden Oak neighborhood and were eventually nabbed by authorities while on the run.
Joshua Edwards, who was listed as a vice president in the fake Orlando-based ministry, submitted loan program documents and portrayed it as a successful operation with a monthly payroll of $2.76 million and revenue of more than $51 million in 2019, the Orlando Sentinel reported. He also presented IRS forms and a cover letter from an accountant that showed summaries of ASLAN’s bank accounts. The accounting firm had the same address as ASLAN and banks listed on the letter later told federal authorities the ministry didn’t hold the accounts with them.
The U.S. Secret Service seized more than $7.5 million from accounts at Bank of America and another $868,000 from First American Trust from ASLAN.
In his appeal to the judge for a lighter sentence, however, Searle painted his client as a cognitively deficient and sheltered man who claims he never had a girlfriend and never lived apart from his family before he was arrested. He suggested his client, who has autism, was manipulated by family members around him.
“His entire life prior to his arrest in this case was centered around his immediate family and their Christian faith. Mr. Edwards had never lived apart from his parents and sister. The family operated a Christian ministry, which served as Mr. Edwards’s sole source of engagement and employment throughout his life,” Searle argued.
“Growing up, Mr. Edwards had no real friendships and spent all of his time with his family. In fact, he reported having never dated or been in a romantic relationship in his life. When he was arrested, Mr. Edwards was living at a house in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where he had resided with his family since 2018.”
Searle further pointed out that both Joshua Edwards’ parents were struggling with failing health, and his older sister was the only one caring for them. He said giving him a lighter sentence would allow him to assist his sister with caring for his parents.
Judge Moe, however, was not swayed. In addition to the 51-month sentence, Joshua Edwards will serve three years on probation.
He is expected to serve his time at the FCI Coleman Low, a low-security federal correctional institution in Florida, where it will be easier for his family to visit him.
“If defendant is deported, he shall not reenter the United States without the express permission of the appropriate governmental authority,” minutes on his sentencing state.
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