Assistant Pastor Convicted At Trial For $800,000 Investment Scheme Is Sentenced To Prison

Press Release

The Defendant Used Fake Promotional Material and Position of Trust to Victimize Other Churches and Congregation Members

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Michael Mandel Baldwin, 55, of Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on charges of wire fraud and securities fraud, for orchestrating an $800,000 investment scheme, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Jason Byrnes, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today's announcement.

According to trial evidence, witness testimony, and filed court documents, from 2009 to 2021, Baldwin served as Assistant Pastor and Musical Director for a church in Northern Virginia, and Chief Executive Officer of the Miracle Mansion, LLC (Miracle Mansion). Trial evidence established that Baldwin used his position of trust within the church and fake promotional material to promote his investment scheme to victims that included churches, congregation members, and individual investors. To convince victims to invest in the Miracle Mansion project, Baldwin repeatedly lied about the viability, legitimacy, and success of the project, and used the names of well-known corporations and organizations to falsely claim they had endorsed the project.

According to evidence presented at trial, Baldwin solicited investments from a Charlotte-area church and its congregation members, as well as other entities located throughout the United States, including in Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, and Georgia. As part of the fraud, Baldwin's promotional material falsely described Miracle Mansion as "a one-of-a-kind entertainment complex that [would] reshape the face of family entertainment in the Washington Metropolitan region," with a mission that "promotes family-focused inspiration, entertainment and enrichment anchored by a Biblical worldview." To promote the scheme, Baldwin held in-person and virtual meetings with potential investors, during which he falsely claimed the investors' money would be used to develop, create, and construct Miracle Mansion, including to purchase the land on which Miracle Mansion would be built.

According to witness testimony, in furtherance of the scheme, Baldwin presented to investors several investment opportunities, including "GroundSwell 73," which he described as "73 acres = 7,300 people, investing $73 per month, for 73 months."

As court documents reflect, Baldwin lied to victims and would-be investors that The Kennedy Center and high-level executives at Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A had endorsed and supported Miracle Mansion. However, contrary to Baldwin's claims, high-level executives with Hobby Lobby and Chick-Fil-A testified at trial that they neither knew nor supported Baldwin and his project.

Rather than using the victims' money to create, develop, and construct Miracle Mansion as promised, Baldwin spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his personal lifestyle, including to pay for personal expenses, travel, gym memberships, and meals at restaurants. He also made large credit card payments and cash withdrawals. Baldwin also used a portion of the victims' money to pay others involved in Miracle Mansion, and to make Ponzi style payments to some of the investors who were questioning the status and the legitimacy of the project.

At today's sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors contended that Baldwin preyed on his victims' religious affiliations, charitable inclinations, and trust in the defendant as a friend and religious advisor and noted that Baldwin inflicted emotional and spiritual harm on his victims.

Baldwin will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today's announcement U.S. Attorney King thanked the U.S. Secret Service for leading the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caryn Finley and Kenneth Smith of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

Updated August 20, 2024