Pastor, Wife, Fireman Charged With Laundering Drug Money Through Mortgages In Miami

May 19, 2009 8:46 a.m. EST

Miami, FL (AHN) - A pastor, his wife and a fire captain have been arrested by FBI agents in Miami and have been charged in a 59-count indictment involving drug dealing and mortgage fraud.

Defendants Garry Souffrant, 33, and Yvonne Souffrant, 33, husband and wife, both of Davie, FL, Gamaliel Souffrant, a/k/a Neal Souffrant, 44, Garry Souffrant's brother, of Pembroke Pines, FL, and their company, Progressive Real Estate of Broward, Inc., have all been charged in connection with a long term mortgage fraud scheme designed to launder drug money.

Additionally, Garry Souffrant is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, bank fraud and bank theft. According to the Miami Herald, Garry Souffrant is the pastor of God First Ministries in Miami Gardens and a former supervisor at Boca Raton Fire Rescue while Gamaliel is a Miami Fire Rescue captain.

According to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Alexander Acosta, the trio used "Progressive Real Estate of Broward, Inc. to launder millions of dollars in drug proceeds through an extensive mortgage fraud scheme. The defendants allegedly assisted drug traffickers in purchasing homes and luxury automobiles, including a 2004 Rolls Royce Phantom."

"The defendants allegedly arranged for and/or acted as straw buyers on behalf of the drug traffickers. This allowed the traffickers to use their drug proceeds to purchase homes and lease automobiles, while concealing the source of the income. The defendants also allegedly diverted several million dollars of mortgage loan proceeds to continue to fund the scheme and for their personal use," according to the indictment.