A gay former Catholic official has been charged with fraud after obtaining millions in coronavirus relief funds meant to help small businesses and buying personal luxury items.
Kenneth P. Gaughan, 41, was charged with one count of bank fraud, one count of theft of government funds, one count of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering after securing over $2.1 million from two federal programs, reports the Washington Blade.
Gaughan, a former assistant superintendent and contracting liaison for the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, used the money to buy a $300,000 yacht, a $1.3 million D.C. townhouse, and a $46,000 sports car.
Related: Gay coronavirus denier feels awful about infecting 14 of his closest family members
According to a statement released by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Gaughan submitted loan requests for at least a dozen bogus companies through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program.
And apparently the move was on-brand — Gaughan has previously been charged with embezzling over $470,000 from the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. from 2010-2018. He narrowly escaped those charges in December 2019, when a 5-day trial ended with the court dismissing the charges due to prosecutorial technicalities before the jury ever reached a verdict.
Related: Antigay megachurch that hosted Mike Pence last month gets millions in federal coronavirus aid
“Mr. Gaughan was so emboldened by deceiving a church for eight years he then, allegedly, turned his deception to the government, stealing funds that were meant to be a lifeline for struggling businesses during an unprecedented economic downturn, and greedily using them to satisfy his own materialistic desires,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Boone.
“We will not tolerate exploitation of this national emergency for personal gain,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for D.C. Michael R. Sherwin. “This office will not allow fraudsters to steal taxpayer money intended to help small businesses that are struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Gaughan pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Vince
Damn. Hot man and knows how to handle money.
tennisguynyc
You’re disgusting for posting this comment. Clearly the guy is bald and has fake teeth.
James
GET LOST YOU SHALLOW MORON.
WSnyder
How is someone who get’s caught defrauding the Government ‘good’ at handling money? He got caught embezzling from the Church too [only a technicality by the DA saved his a**]. Weird idea of what ‘good’ means.
lord.krath
Villains can be hot, right? And to your detractors, so what if we’re shallow? Aren’t [we] busy telling the world not to judge us? Who cares what you think.
arie570
Well he does need a car a house and a yacht to social distance in doesnt he?
cuteguy
You give gays a bad name. I guess there’s always a rotten apple in each bunch
darkanser
He should be quite popular in the slammer!!!
Heywood Jablowme
Vince – I’m pretty sure you were being sarcastic? Gotta use that “/s”!
Troysky
@Vince ….shame on us….I thought the same thing. …still hope justice is served.
Cam
What “Prosecutorial Technicalities” forced them to stop the trial? And if it happens again those need to be investigated as well.
jayceecook
Maybe read the article linked to?
Since that never occurred to you I’ll help you out, “… the prosecution was incorrectly carried out in Maryland rather than D.C.”
jlogb
@jayceecook .. what a blunder huh? They must have been in a hurry. Lol. Wow what a f-up. Hes hot…but hes headed to prison.
Cam
@jayceecook, having a rough day?
Jurisdiction is one of the first things figured out in a trial, judges will determine if there is jurisdiction prior to the jury trial beginning. The fact that it was messed up seems odd, and sounds like this guy was, pardon the expression, thrown a bone.
But sorry that your day was ruined and you were so enraged that I didn’t click through.
jayceecook
@CamCam Not true. When a plaintiff seeks to initiate a suit, he or she must determine where to file the complaint. The plaintiff must file suit in a court that has jurisdiction over the case. If the court does not have jurisdiction, the defendant may challenge the suit on that ground, and the suit may be dismissed, or its result may be overturned in a subsequent action by one of the parties in the case.
So in this guy’s case the technicality was that the prosecution didn’t file their suit with the proper court. They filed in Maryland when it should have been D.C. Now either the prosecutor didn’t do their homework before trial or they got outplayed by the defendant’s lawyers who must have uncovered it and brought the fact to the judge. After which the judge had no choice but to dismiss the case because it had no jurisdiction to hear it. Pretty sure the Maryland D.A.’s office would have looked at the dismissal to verify that it was legally sound. Though since they got the jurisdiction wrong I’m sure they let it slide for the egg on their face.
But, if you had any brain cells, you would have also known that after his case was tossed the FBI kept tabs on him waiting for the guy to f**k up again. People like him always do. He did and they caught him. Since he pulled these scams in D.C. as well, they were able to also indict him for the church scams.
So your assertion that there was some kind of shady, illegal deal made to “give him a bone” (an idiom you used incorrectly) is laughable. Because if Maryland did have the jurisdiction you bet your conceited a$$ they would have appealed or refiled the suit.
My day is actually going okay. Not great but not “rough”. Also you could never “ruin” it. You don’t have that power Sweetie. So no need to worry. But sorry you’re stupid, stupid.
Cam
@jayceecook
And then the prosecutor and the court determine whether or not they have jurisdiction.
But please, by all means keep on taking those anger management classes, you’ll get there.
jayceecook
@CamCam But that didn’t happen which is why the judge threw the case out during the trial. So either the prosecutor, the courts, or both knew they didn’t have jurisdiction but proceeded anyway until they got found out or they were so incompetent that they never bothered to check. Either way my points still stand and yours don’t. Especially your poorly chosen idiom. But keep avoiding the truth. It’s always been your strong suit.
I’ll make sure to keep that in mind at my next class if you promise to keep going to therapy to get that narcissistic personality disorder under control Sweetie.
Cam
@@jayceecook
Jurisdictional issues are handled BEFORE the jury starts hearing the case. The fact that this went to the jury shows a major problem in what happened and what was allowed to happen.
Funny how enraged you seem to be getting over that.
Oh, and using the same nickname for me that 4 other troll screenames use isn’t a great way to hide the fact that this is another troll account.
But nice try.
ScottOnEarth
Well, he’s Catholic AND gay, so he had no chance of having any sort of moral compass.
unreligious
Well you would no about having no moral compass.
johnnymcmxxx
“No”? Try “know”. How old are you?
Harley
Yea. That shït stain needs to go to prison for a long time.
tennisguynyc
Agreed!!
Larry
What? Following the President and his cabinet’s leadership and policies doesn’t work for gay men?
BigFloridaBear
Oops! he is in second place. Straight guy in Miami secured 6.3 million, bought a Lambrogini and blew over half of the remainder on parties
BillyElliotwannabe
Who knew that a straight guy could be more corrupt than a gay guy!
Young Timer
Oh yeah, he’s pretty.
But prisoners doing life, love pretty boys in the showers.
Don’t drop the soap, big homie.
And let’s see if he still looks like a pretty white boy when he gets out of the big house. A few years of getting your face punched by other prisoners tends to alter your pretty face somewhat.
He’s young enough. I’m sure he can live with Mommie and Daddy, who will proclaim his innocence to the day they die.
Godsmacked
If he goes to any prison, it will probably be the white collar Martha Stewart type of prison since embezzlement isn’t considered a violent offense
itsMikeSpears
I’m glad they got this guy. He may actually enjoy where he’s going.
BillyElliotwannabe
Making jokes and snide comments about prison rape is really distasteful. Straight women do not “enjoy” being raped by men because they are straight, gay men do not enjoy being raped by men just because they are gay. Your comment feeds into a vicious stereotype that gay men are promiscuous by nature and any kind of sexual activity is welcomed and enjoyed.
Rape is a violation and is deeply traumatising to their victims.
I do hope this man goes to prison for his crimes but I do not wish for him to be raped or subjected to any form of violence.
James
LOCK HIM UP FOR YEARS. HE IS A CREEP.
dhmonarch89
I’m fine with his embezzling from the Catholic Church, but co-vid funds- lock the prick up…and all the Trump buddies who have done the same thing!
Godsmacked
The Boyfriend’s public IG page was full of pics boating on the Potomac (until it was locked this morning) . I always wondered how one could afford that nice a boat on a 2 -day a week bartending gig and a Canine rehab position… just saying…
Davidflys
I don’t understand why the title is”DC gay man”. Do all news stories include the person’s sexuality now? I don’t remember seeing anywhere: A straight man robbed a bank today.
BillyElliotwannabe
I absolutely agree with you.
WSnyder
A piece of Trash to be sure. But perhaps a little more news on the GOP Congressmen who’ve tapped the PPP also? Some of who even who voted AGAINST it [then applied for it]? Let’s see more of THOSE stories please.
@dusyk
WTF that’s all I got lol
acerhound
The bigger question is why are churches getting huge sums of COVID relief money? Were they in such crisis? A ridiculous administration ploy to profit on a crisis
jayceecook
Jesus F**k**g Christ… are you related to Cam?
The money he embezzled from the various churches has nothing to do with COVID-19. All that happened between 2010-2018.
The money he allegedly scammed out of the federal government from the C.A.R.E.S. Act came from bogus companies. Bogus companies he set up to apply for relief funds meant to help small businesses.
Reading is fundamental.
Cam
@jayceecook
1. You’re obsessed with me.
2. Churches DID get taxpayer paid Covid funds. Everybody knows that, so why are you faking outrage and trying to deflect from his legit comment?
Have you tried Yoga, or jogging? Maybe that will help with your anger issues.
BillyElliotwannabe
Why is it mentioned in the headline that this man is gay? What has his sexuality got to do with the fact that he committed fraud. I am sorry I do not see the link.
“We aim to provide a fun, entertaining, and enjoyable space that celebrates LGBTQ people and culture”
This is what appears immediately below the comment box. I ask you therefore how is reporting on crimes committed by LGBTQ people where the same crimes are committed by non-LGBTQ people and nobody thinks it’s necessary to highlight that fact.
The weird thing is having put that in the headline, I did not see anywhere in the article that it made reference to his sexuality.
sillyme
@BillyElliotwannabe they didn’t say anything about it at all, just in the headline only but I agree he is hot but no he needs to get put into a prison that isn’t a luxury resort but a regular prison and let him deal with his issues that way and not in a federal/Martha Stewart type for the “White collar” crime that he did. Theft of any type like that he needs to be placed in normal lock up and spend 25 years or more for what he did, moral compass or not gay or not doesn’t matter what he did is still wrong no matter what. For those of you who have never been raped be thankful for it, That’s not a fun experience at all been there and had it done not good at all.
Dick Gozinia
He’s also a licensed professional counselor. I guess I wouldn’t expect that kind of behavior from someone in a helping profession. He says he’s not guilty, so I’d like to hear his side.
jayceecook
A guy I went to HS with and was in my class became a doctor, a heart surgeon and often worked on kids for free. Two years ago he killed his wife then shot himself at the hospital he worked at.
Terrible people can be found in every corner of the world. Terrible people are capable of doing good things. Good people are capable of doing terrible things.
jack512
I’m guessing his hot looks impressed some of the closeted clerical big wigs in D.C. and enabled him at a young age to get some high powered jobs in the Catholic establishment. I wonder if he had to put out to climb that ladder in a closeted clerical dominated world so quickly.
nm4047
looks like another episode of American Greed in the making.
o.codone
I’d marry him.
Wheelerman
He’d have your bank account cleaned out before the ink dried on your marriage license! Seems money and status are all he’s interested in.
t
Catholics AKA the Italian Evangelicals. Go figure.
ZoltanPepper
More unfair generalizations and unjust discrimination toward organized religion by gays. I agree some aspects of organized religion are unfair, but the wholesale condemnation by so many gays reflects egregiously uncritical thinking for which many gays would revolt if the tables were turned. I’m gay and this hypocrisy is patently embarrassing.
Finally, I find many aspects of organized religion to be useful and transformative for myself; I am offended by the bias, prejudice, defamation, marginalization, and hate speech on here toward believers.
aussiechef
Wow? Really? You’re pro-religion and surprised about unfair generalisations? ANYONE who had anything to do with the god botherers over the past 50 years will tell you that making assumptions, generalisations and derogatory policy was de rigour and supported by government for countless years. So is it really any surprise that someone is a bit bitter about this?
One thing I’ve noted from the comments on this site is that people seem to forget we all have many dimensions.
gay criminals
straight theocrats
gay atheists. (Count me in on that one)
So, the issue of being gay and being anti-religion should a) not be any sort of surprise or disappointment to anyone – and b) your own beliefs show that a few comments on a web page do not constitute any kind of scientific poll or understanding of what people believe or don’t believe.
Cam
The Mormon Church and Catholic churches spent hundreds of millions of dollars attacking LGBTQ rights, and Protostant groups have pushed anti-LGBTQ laws in multiple jurisdictions.
So please save your phone outrage. Call me back when LGBTQ people are shutting down churches and not the other way around.
gavo92
I’ll never snitch on daddy (Never).
He needs to pay back or go to prison.
titussavage212
I bet if a democratic did what he did it would be okay
Cam
Except it was a Republican, and you’re trying to deflect from that. Nice try criminal.
RobF
Lock him up! May he become someone’s bitch in jail!
Tyrone Johnston
That picture is from 2014. He doesn’t look like that now. How in the world did he secure a job after his criminal history, regardless of the dismissed charge? Anything to fit in with the crowd in DC. Still, he overdid it.
Onecaddy13
Why is it so easy for people to scam the Government to get aid? Do they not keep track of where all this money is going?? Yet our politicians on both sides continue this babyish blame game infighting and can’t come to a compromise to help us little folk out. People are truly hurting, myself included!!! Truly disgusting.