GRANDVILLE, MI - Resurrection Life Church, which received $300,000 in donations from Ponzi schemer David McQueen, has raised $8,500 to help reimburse victims.
It isn't going to go far. Still, it's better than what a lot of others have offered.
In a letter to victims of David McQueen's $46 million Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors outlined efforts to recover funds from those who benefited from the scam. The list included businessmen, investors, lawyers - even a man who obtained $230,000 to help establish Hawaii as a separate country.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Borgula said in a letter to victims that the IRS and FBI have seized about $900,000 in assets during the course of the investigation.
That money, however, will not be paid to victims before next year.
The U.S. Department of Justice requires forfeited assets to be held until McQueen's appeal is completed. With many elderly victims, the U.S. Attorney's Office pushed for an exception to the Justice Department's policy and sought immediate return of assets, the letter said.
"While we have not yet been successful, we will continue to request that our counterparts within the Department return these funds to you as soon as possible," Borgula wrote.
He also sought voluntary return of assets obtained during the course of the fraudulent scheme, according to the letter obtained by The Grand Rapids Press and MLive.
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In most cases, those contacted by authorities declined to return the money. Most did not know that McQueen was committing fraud, the prosecutor wrote.
Borgula outlined the requests and responses in the letter:
• A property owner declined to return $1.7 million received from McQueen and his vice president, Trent Francke, on a land contract that eventually defaulted.
• A man received $1.3 million as profit from his investment. He declined to return the money. He noted he had filed for bankruptcy.
• A couple had received $1.2 million for "facilitating certain transactions" with McQueen. They declined to return the money because it is gone.
• An attorney who represented McQueen and helped set up his business to comply with securities regulations is considering return of $350,481 in legal fees.
• Another attorney who helped McQueen with business transactions declined to voluntarily return $230,462 in legal fees but his former law firm is considering a contribution.
• An investor declined to return $230,000 he received from McQueen to help in the Hawaii sovereignty movement.
• McQueen's former wife of one year says she does not have $135,000 to return.
• A broker invested $95,000 on McQueen's behalf, losing it all. He cannot be found.
• A man who set up off-shore bank accounts in Switzerland declined to return $75,000. The accounts are empty.
• A consultant who helped McQueen set up a business in New Zealand says he has none of the $75,000 to return.
• A woman who received a $75,000 loan from McQueen, which she did not repay after McQueen was prosecuted, is considering a return of the money.
• A man who received $27,000 in consulting fees to find funding sources will not answer phone calls.
• A man who received $10,000 as profit on his investment declined to return money he received from McQueen and Francke. The man, however, recognized that McQueen and Francke were involved in a Ponzi scheme and notified the FBI. He provided valuable information and testified against McQueen.
McQueen is serving 30 years in prison. Francke is serving an eight-year term. Four others have also been convicted for their roles. Restitution orders range from $1.1 million to nearly $36 million.
McQueen donated $300,000 to Resurrection Life Church from 2005 to 2009. The church declined a request for its return because the money had been used for the church's mission years ago. The church, however, set up a fund on its website so that members could donate.
The Rev. Duane Vander Klok has said that "Redirecting donated funds to a purpose other than what they were donated for is a very serious legal matter. We do not desire to be unethical, or commit a crime today, in reaction to the crime committed by someone else many years ago."
John Agar covers crime for MLive/Grand Rapids Press E-mail John Agar: jagar@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterJAgar