This accused fraudster really thinks he’s holier than thou.
John Michael Haskew claimed he pocketed $7 billion in a bank fraud scheme — because Jesus Christ chose him to be rich, according to published reports.
His god awful excuse got an eye roll from Lakeland, FL., authorities, who arrested him on December 16, WFTV9 NEWs reported.
“(Haskew stated) that Jesus Christ created wealth for everyone. Using this scheme, Haskew believed that he could obtain the wealth that Jesus Christ created for him and that belonged to him,” according to a criminal complaint.
Haskew pleaded guilty last Thursday to a single charge of making a false or fraudulent statement to a department or agency of the United States. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when he’s sentenced.
Prosecutors said that the out-of-work Haskew was desperate to pay off a debt he owed to the federal government, prompting him to carry out his scam, NBC4Miami reported. Through experimentation, Haskew figured out how to set up 70 wire transfers in mid-December, using a bank routing number that didn’t belong to him.
He later boasted to federal agents that he was “self-taught on the banking industry,” according to court papers said
Haskew transferred the mammoth amount of cash from an unnamed, but “large, nationally renowned financial institution” to an unidentified account, according to court papers.