TEXAS MAN GUILTY OF DEFRAUDING GEORGIA CHURCH SENTENCED TO PRISON

The following information was released by the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia:

Defendant Sentenced to 235 Months in Prison, Ordered to Pay Nearly $4 Million in Restitution

A Texas man acting as an insurance adjuster who cheated an Albany church out of millions of dollars paid out by its insurance company to repair its facilities heavily damaged by Hurricane Michael in 2018 was sentenced to serve more than 19 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $4 million in restitution to victims in several states.

Andrew Mitchell, formerly Andrew Aga, 46, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to serve 235 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $2,895,903.01 in restitution to the Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. In addition, Mitchell was ordered to pay $1,082,993.41 to other victims after he admitted in open court to similar crimes in Texas and Louisiana. Mitchell's sentence will run concurrently to a prison sentence imposed in the 29th Judicial District Court of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, in Case Number 2023-CR-26, at the conclusion of which he will continue to serve the remaining balance of 18 months imprisonment in this case. Mitchell previously pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud on March 27. There is no parole in the federal system.

"Andrew Mitchell will spend nearly two decades in prison for concocting a devious scheme to swindle insurance money from a historic downtown Albany church, a crime he's committed in other communities after natural disasters," said U.S. Attorney William R. "Will" Keyes."Our office and law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue and prosecute these types of fraudsters who prey on people at their most vulnerable."

"At a time when victims were still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Michael, Andrew Mitchell took advantage of that vulnerability for his own personal gain," said Georgia Insurance Commissioner John F. King. "I am proud of our investigators and their work in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office to protect hardworking Georgia families and hold the defendant responsible for his actions."

According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Pine Avenue in Albany was damaged by Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 hurricane that made landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2018. The storm's eyewall struck the Albany community as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of up to 115 miles per hour and significant rainfall. Friendship Baptist Church sustained damage; an initial inspection revealed at least $216,000 in damages. The facility was insured by Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Brotherhood Mutual issued a check for $183,207.89 on Nov. 15, 2018, to Friendship Baptist to cover partial repairs, which was sent via the United States Postal Service (USPS) and was deposited.

In November 2018, a man identifying as Eric Goldberg and who claimed to be associated with Blue Key Construction, met with the church's pastor, Carl White, to discuss serving as the contractor. A second meeting was held on Nov. 20, 2018, between Goldberg and White, along with Friendship Missionary Baptist Church's Board of Directors Co-Chairperson Willie Thomas. Goldberg provided a contract authorizing Mitchell, aka "Aga," to act as a public adjuster.

In December 2018, Mitchell began emailing Brotherhood Mutual representing himself as a Georgia public adjuster employed by International Consulting Group. He was reportedly associated with several corporate entities including but not limited to International Consulting Group; Texas Wind Consultants, LLC; and Loss Consultants of Texas, LLC d/b/a Texas Claim Consultants. In January 2019, Mitchell emailed Brotherhood Mutual an itemized estimate for repairs at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church totaling roughly $2.1 million on the letterhead of "Georgia Claim Consultants." In February 2019, Mitchell provided Brotherhood Mutual with a second repair estimate for approximately $5 million. On March 4, 2019, Mitchell emailed an adjustor with Syndicate Claims a proof of loss indicating that the damages to Friendship Missionary Baptist Church would cost $7.1 million to repair. On March 13, 2019, Mitchell emailed a follow-up proof of loss indicating the total repair cost was $6.1 million.

On July 10, 2019, the insurance company issued a check to the church and Mitchell for $3,376,102.18, mailed to Albany. Mitchell emailed asking the check be reissued and made jointly payable to Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and Loss Consultants of Texas, LLC, d/b/a Texas Claim Consultants. On July 19, 2019, Brotherhood Mutual issued the check payable to the church and Mitchell, which was mailed to the church. On July 24, 2019, Mitchell emailed Brotherhood Mutual requesting that the payees be changed to Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and Loss Consultants of Texas, LLC d/b/a Texas Claim Consultants. He also asked that the reissued check be mailed to an address in Lake Shores, Texas. On July 24, 2019, Brotherhood Mutual issued the check and mailed it as requested. An endorsement on behalf of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church was forged.

On July 30, 2019, C.W. received and negotiated a check for $50,000 from Texas Wind Consultants, LLC, which Mitchell hand-delivered to C.W. in Albany. On July 31, 2019, Blue Key Construction submitted an invoice totaling $2.4 million for works allegedly performed for Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. On Nov. 26, 2019, Mitchell submitted a proof of loss totaling $7.495 million.

On Dec. 11, 2019, the insurance company issued a check jointly payable to Friendship Missionary Baptist Church of Broad Avenue, Inc. and Loss Consultants of Texas, LLC d/b/a Texas Claim Consultants for $2,762,783.93. This check was mailed to Mitchell in Kemah, Texas. An endorsement on behalf of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church was forged.

On March 4, 2020, C.W. received and negotiated a check for $50,000 from Texas Wind Consultants, LLC, which Mitchell hand-delivered to C.W. in Albany. On June 19, 2020, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church of Broad Avenue, Inc. allegedly signed a contract with Blue Key Construction for $18.6 million. Pastor White denied knowledge of this contract or signing it on behalf of the Church. Representatives of Blue Key Construction denied ever having prepared, signed or entered into this contract.

On Nov. 20, 2020, Mitchell submitted an invoice from a heating and air company for $950,000. A heating and air company representative stated that they did not prepare the invoice. An inspection at the church revealed that the work represented in the invoice was not performed. Mitchell also submitted a certification of completion from Blue Key Construction stating that substantial completion would be reached on March 31, 2021,per a Dec. 19, 2019, contract for over $18 million in repairs.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Brotherhood Mutual issued a check jointly payable to Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and Loss Consultants of Texas, LLC d/b/a Texas Claim Consultants for $544,512.80. This check was mailed to Mitchell in Kemah, Texas. An endorsement on behalf of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church was forged.

On Sept. 30, 2021, Mitchell emailed Brotherhood Mutual the fraudulent $18.6 million contract between Blue Key Construction and Friendship Missionary Baptist Church; the church received less than one-third of the proceeds paid out by Brotherhood Mutual for damages. Blue Key Construction did not fully repair the church facilities, and the company halted construction in Feb. 2021 after receiving approximately $150,000 from Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and approximately $2.3 million from Mitchell. Mitchell lied to Blue Key Construction representatives that the insurance company refused payment beyond approximately $2.5 million.

In June 2022, Mitchell met with Friendship Missionary Baptist Church representatives to voice their concerns about incomplete repairs; the defendant lied that Brotherhood Mutual was withholding further payments. In total, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance issued $6,866,606.80 in payments intended exclusively for the church's hurricane repairs.

The case was investigated by the Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Fire Safety.

Criminal Chief Leah McEwen prosecuted the case for the Government.