Hate group preacher, treasurer accused of embezzling $5.3M

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
NJ.COM

By Thomas Moriarty tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com,
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A Mercedes-Benz van, trips to Disneyland and private school tuition were just some of the gifts Jermaine Grant lavished on his family — all ostensibly paid for with income from his entertainment company.

In reality, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has alleged, all were ill-gotten gains of a scheme by Grant, 43, and Lincoln Warrington, 48, to siphon millions from the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ. The New York-based religious organization is part of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, which believes black people are among the lost tribes of Israel.

Grant, who has led the organization under the name “Chief High Priest Tazadaqyah,” has preached that a black Jesus will return to earth to enslave and kill white people. The Southern Poverty Law Center has previously cited his comments in classifying the church as a black nationalist hate group.

Both men were arrested Wednesday on a grand jury indictment charging them with conspiring to defraud the United States, and Grant with an additional five counts of personal income tax evasion.

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