Westminster pastor set to plead guilty to more than $33 million fraud

The pastor of a Westminster-based church accused of swindling more than $33 million from investors has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Kent R.E. Whitney, 38, of Newport Beach is expected to admit to federal counts of mail fraud and filing a false federal income tax return, court filings show.

Prosecutors allege that Whitney ran the Church of the Healthy Self – along with a related investment arm known as CHS Trust – out of a strip mall in Westminster.

Whitney directed church representatives to appear on television and at live seminars – appearances that were recorded and frequently uploaded on YouTube – in order to solicit investments. Among the false and misleading claims prosecutors allege were presented to investors were promises of a 12% rate of return, a guaranteed return of principal with no risk due to federal insurance and a claim the organization was audited by an accounting firm.

In reality, prosecutors say, little investor money went into trading accounts, and fake monthly statements purporting to outline nonexistent investment returns were prepared for investors.

Prosecutors also allege that Whitney reported an income of $17,539 in the 2018 tax year, far less than the $452,872 he is believed to have earned that year. Of that, prosecutors believe $435,333 came from the alleged fraud scheme.

Previous court filings tied to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation alleged that investor funds were used to purchase Rolex watches, a Bentley automobile, Gucci apparel and guns, as well as on rent for various Newport Beach properties. That filing also alleged that Whitney founded the church in 2014, three months after completing a 44-month prison sentence for a commodities scam.