Minister Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow pleads guilty to drug, tax charges

Kenneth Glasgow promotes inmate voting rights. (Photo by Greg Garrison)

Kenneth Sharpton Glasgow, a Dothan minister and half-brother of the Rev. Al Sharpton, has pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges.

Glasgow, 57, entered guilty pleas Friday to tax evasion, mail fraud and drug conspiracy charges, according to an announcement by Middle District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Sandra Stewart.

Glasgow founded the Ordinary Peoples Society and the Prodigal Child Project, nonprofit organizations, according to federal authorities. He solicited donations for the two organizations from other nonprofits and foundations, representing that he would use those donations for charitable purposes.

Instead, as Glasgow admitted in his plea agreement, during the 2018 calendar year alone, he withdrew $407,450.00 in cash from the bank accounts of one of his nonprofit organizations and used the money for his own benefit.

Because he used the money for personal expenses, he was legally required to report the funds as income on his tax return. However, Glasgow failed to even file a return for that year.

Glasgow also attempted to conceal this activity by causing his tax preparer to complete inaccurate IRS 990 forms for Glasgow’s nonprofit organizations that vastly understated the income of the organizations and omitted the financial benefits Glasgow received from them.

In his plea agreement, Glasgow specifically acknowledged committing fraud during the 2018 tax year. He also agreed to pay the IRS $376,720.00 in restitution for tax years 2016 through 2019.

During Friday’s plea hearing, Glasgow also admitted to mailing documents containing false statements to the Social Security Administration so that he could continue receiving SSA disability benefits and related health benefits under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Glasgow made written statements on various SSA forms describing his physical abilities and daily activities as being very limited, despite reporting on IRS 990 forms for his nonprofits that he worked 50 to 60 hours per week.

In some of the forms, Glasgow claimed that, due to physical limitations, he had difficulty driving and had to ride with someone. These statements were not true, authorities said.

Glasgow admitted that he leased a vehicle using funds from one of his nonprofits and listed himself as the sole authorized driver.

Additionally, between February 5, 2015, and August 11, 2020, Glasgow received traffic citations relating to approximately 27 different traffic stops, all of which indicated that Glasgow was the driver.

Glasgow also pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

According to the plea agreement, the drug conspiracy started with others at an unknown date and continued through August 2020.

Glasgow was indicted for the drug conspiracy charge in October 2021. The additional charges of tax evasion and mail fraud were recently filed on February 13, 2023.

The Dothan pastor had previous legal troubles, including an arrest on capital murder charges in 2018 in the death of Breunia Jennings, 23, who was shot in the head in Dothan.

Prosecutors said man who was a passenger in Glasgow’s vehicle shot Jennings.

A federal grand jury determined there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a case against Glasgow on the capital murder charge, which was then dropped.

In 2020, Glasgow allegedly bit the finger of a Dothan police officer who was trying to take what authorities said was crack cocaine from Glasgow’s mouth.

A sentencing hearing on the federal conviction will be scheduled in the coming months. At that hearing, Glasgow will face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, along with substantial fines and restitution.

“Mr. Glasgow caused immeasurable harm,” Stewart said in a prepared statement. “Through his drug dealing, he released dangerous, addictive substances to the streets of his own community.”

“By failing to pay his taxes and then fraudulently obtaining government benefits, he took from every American taxpayer,’’ Stewart said. “I am grateful to each agency involved in this investigation. Their combined effort ensures that the Dothan community is safer and that public funds will be put to the public’s benefit—instead of being put into Mr. Glasgow’s pocket.”

The case was investigated by the DEA, FBI, IRS – Criminal Investigation, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Dothan Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorneys Megan A. Kirkpatrick, Stephen K. Moulton, and Brandon W. Bates are prosecuting the case.

“Kenneth Glasgow’s actions not only endangered the community, but defrauded the American taxpayers,” said Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI. “His guilty plea should help to dissuade others from following this same path.”

This post was originally published on this site