Talbert, for example, spent four months in jail in 1997 after refusing to acknowledge the court's jurisdiction. He claimed diplomatic immunity as an ambassador from the Kingdom of Heaven. Eventually, Talbert was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for a 1999 racketeering and securities conviction in state court. He told followers he had proof but never provided it. He hasn't found many.
Investors can hope for pennies back on the dollar.
He told jurors that he made it clear to Whitfield the money was an investment, not a gift, and that he could not afford to lose it. Jurors weren't allowed to find out that Smith, a father of six building a new church, lost his home and his cars as a result. The damage challenged his faith and prompted him to offer his resignation to his own church elders. God allows troubles into people's lives to make them bitter or make them better, he said. It took a while, he acknowledged, but he and his family opted for better.