Source: STEPHEN JAFFE / Getty
A day after he was indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell told ABC 13 Houston that the bonds he sold were legit and that he invested a large amount of his own money in the deal, even personally refunding nearly $1 million to anyone who was not satisfied.
“Every single person who has asked for their money back has gotten their money back,” Caldwell’s attorney Dan Cogdell said at a press conference Friday afternoon. Cogdell said that they will “beat this case like a rented mule.”
In a televised interview, Caldwell said that he was “absolutely innocent of the charges” and that they were “baseless.”
“I’m grateful for the support of the community,” Caldwell said. “The bonds are legitimate and I have proof of that. Second, I don’t know any of the investors in the bonds. Another gentleman secured the investors. Subsequent to the process of me getting … I met a few of the investors. None of the investors are members of the church.”
Caldwell stated that he never brought his partner into Windsor Village nor did he give any of the bonds to his parishioners. All of the bonds were sold in Louisiana.
Caldwell and the other man named in the affidavit, Gregory Smith, face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted.
