Category Archives: WOFF Updates

Kent Covington to plead guilty- Jane Whaley named in court document

Monday, I heard a report on the radio that Governor Cooper named Mac McKeller to a judgeship. My ears perked up as McKeller was the court appointed attorney for Diane McKinny. Earlier this year, Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) member, Diane McKinny was indicted on Federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Marion Kent Covington was named alongside McKinny in the scheme which obtained several thousand dollars from filing fraudulent unemployment claims for several companies where most employees were WOFF members.

Recently filed court documents have McKeller asking for a continuance and a withdrawal from representing McKinny. Diane McKinny’s court date has been moved to January 7, 2019, 9:00AM in Courtroom 1 at the US Federal Courthouse in Asheville.

In other court documents filed in the case against Marion Kent Covington for the same charges, Attorney Stephen Cash requested and was granted an extension of time to work out details of a plea agreement. The new deadline was October 26th. In documents filed today, the “Factual Basis” outlined several important aspects of the case.

First, the document was not meant to give all the facts known about this case.

“This Factual Basis is filed pursuant to Local Criminal Rule 11.2 and does not attempt to set forth all the facts known to the United States at this time. By their signatures below, the parties expressly agree that there is a factual basis for the guilty plea that the defendant will tender pursuant to the Plea Agreement, and that the facts set forth in the Factual Basis are significant to establish all of elements of the crime. The parties agree not to object to or otherwise contradict the facts set forth in the Factual Basis.”

This paragraph leaves open for additional actions which the Government may take involving this scheme. The next few paragraphs outline the scheme in brief and then leads into a detailed breakdown of how the unemployment programs worked during the years in question. The reporting requirements were detailed. Maneuvering around these requirements took forethought.

Starting in paragraph #23- the document outlines the steps taken by Covington and McKinny to manipulate the required reporting and the employees involved. The crisis in the national economy was put forth as a reason for the scheme. The explanation makes it clear not every employee at the companies involved were used in the fraud scheme. The details of the scheme for Diverse Corporate Technologies, Inc (DCT) go through paragraph #31.

This document mentions other companies involved in this scheme besides DCT. These companies include Foot and Ankle Center of the Carolinas, P.A.- Dr. Jerry Gross. (he pleaded guilty), Carolina Outdoor Design owned by James “Randy” Fields, Integrity Marble and Granite, (IMG)- owned by Covington and Sky Catcher Communication, Inc- a business managed in part by Covington. The document makes it clear the other owner of Sky Catcher was not involved in the scheme.

As the progression of the scheme unfolds, paragraph #32 holds some revealing language. Directly from the Factual Basis:

“After successfully implementing the scheme at DCT, COVINGTON and MCKINNY, along with others, such as the leader of their church community, Jane WHALEY, promoted variations of the scheme to other businesses, including other businesses owned or managed by COVINGTON. These conspirators promoted the scheme as a way for community businesses to weather the financial downturn.”
Continue reading Kent Covington to plead guilty- Jane Whaley named in court document

Update: Covington seeking plea deal- McKinny seeks continuance

Updated 10/22/2018 12:25AM-
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Charles McKeller, attorney for Diane McKinny filed a motion October 19th for continuance stating he had 125,000 pages of discovery to review and 30 hours of video. In his Motion, he “has been informed by the US Attorney that more discovery is forthcoming.” The motion leaves the scheduling of the court date up to the Court. A ruling is expected some time before November 7th.
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Documents filed in court October 19th reveal the M. Kent Covington has under counsel been in negotiations with Federal prosecutors to obtain a plea deal. The deadline for the plea deal normally would have been October 19th. The Judge agreed to extend the deadline for the working out the details until October 26th.

Assistant United States District Attorney Daniel Bradley did not oppose the motion.

From the document:

2. Defendant and the Government have agreed in principle, and are currently finalizing plea documents.

3. Defendant anticipates that plea documents will be signed and filed within the week, time being 26 October 2018.

The news is exciting. There are expectations for additional indictments in the next few months. Exact details of the plea deal(s) coming are not known. Along with others, I wait for news and details coming hopefully this week.

This may be the shortest post on this blog. This may also be the most encouraging for ex-members and those who have family still trapped inside the vortex of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF).

What does this last quarter of 2018 hold?

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Continue reading Update: Covington seeking plea deal- McKinny seeks continuance

Charges Dismissed-Safe Exits from WOFF remain a concern

Wednesday, I received confirmation that the second-degree trespassing charges initiated by Jayne Caulder against Wayne Guffey, David Wheeler and I, were set to be dismissed. These charges were filed after events on July31st at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). The video has been viewed over 20,000 times and though I am not providing a link, it can be seen at Rccatalyst.com in an article about the events and dismissal. Also, Daily Courier article.

Rather than trudge through the mire of who said, she said, they did, we did not- I will say the North Carolina Attorney General Special Counsel Adren L. Harris was able to bypass hype and emotion and use sound legal reasoning on which to base the dismissal.

“Although is it evident from the video the Mrs. Caulder repeatedly asks the defendants to leave the Word of Faith Fellowship premises, and they remained while seeking clarification, it would be unreasonable to interpret the word “remain” to include such a brief or temporary interlude that lasted only a few minutes.”
Continue reading Charges Dismissed-Safe Exits from WOFF remain a concern

WOFF Minister-Kent Covington pleads not guilty to Federal charges

On the courthouse steps, Covington’s attorney answers questions…


(key points in the video- Attorney Cash explains the not guilty plea. He has NOT seen the evidence obtained by the US prosecutors and he cannot say if he will ask for a continuance past the September 4th court date until he sees the evidence)

This morning in the U.S. District courthouse in Asheville, Marion Kent Covington through his attorney plead not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud outlined in the Bill of Indictment read to him minutes earlier. Last week, his accused co-conspirator, Diane McKinny, plead not guilty to the same charges. Both cases are set for the September 4th docket. It is unclear at this time which case may be heard first. Judge Martin Reidinger is the scheduled to preside over that session.

Kent entered the courthouse at the earliest possible moment standing with the jurors at the door until it opened. Ramona Hall was Kent’s driver and escort for this hearing. She did the same last Monday for Diane McKinny. Brooke Covington was NOT present. My theory is she is seeking to avoid media exposure at all cost.
Continue reading WOFF Minister-Kent Covington pleads not guilty to Federal charges

Conundrums and Complications… (audio)

Diane McKinny pleads “not guilty” – given a $500,000 unsecured bond

Before the initial hearing started on Monday in front of Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell, the court atmosphere was relaxed and filled with conversations between McKinny’s defense attorney, Mack McKeller, and other court participants. Mr. McKeller was obviously known by all of the regular court staff. He gave the court reporter a hug in the friendliest way and received a warm welcome from the Magistrate once everyone was in their place to start the hearing.

The hearing started at 10:13AM. Magistrate Howell led by outlining the order of the proceedings: there would be an initial hearing, a detention hearing and an arraignment. He started by asking Diane several introductory questions meant to establish her ability to hear, read and understand the procedures as each step occurred. He read a list of her rights including not saying anything and a right to jury trial as well as others.

Soon, he was into the reading of the multi-page Indictment which served as a foundation for the other steps taken during this session.
Continue reading Conundrums and Complications… (audio)

This is not a parking ticket… (audio)

Kent Covington and Diane McKinny indicted on wire fraud conspiracy charges

On Thursday last week, I missed a call from a reporter. Not taking time to listen to the voice mail, a few minutes later, I called them back.

“Have you heard? There were more members indicted today. Kent Covington and Diane McKinny…
“I know them…”
It’s Marion Kent Covington – right? Yes, I replied. Wire fraud involving unemployment benefits…

My mind started racing and my phone started going off with message alerts. My email started filling up. A little later came a call from another reporter asking if I heard. Someone else called asking if for sure Diane McKinny was a WOFF member.

Thus began the next public unveiling of more details of the UI scheme first reported in September of 2017 by the Associated Press. In May of this year, the news was confirmed by the guilty plea of Dr. Jerry Gross and his son, Jason Gross. They plead guilty on May 25th to one count of wire fraud and are waiting for their sentencing. Each was assigned a $200,000 unsecured bond.

Jerry and Jason were charged through a Bill of Information and waived the indictment process- affirming the information presented by the Federal Attorney and pleading guilty without a trial.

Kent Covington and Diane McKinny face a different process. They are facing the indictment and will go through some additional steps. Yes, the recent press release reminds us all that Covington and McKinny are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Continue reading This is not a parking ticket… (audio)

Unforgettable Day in Asheville (video)

US District courthouse 100 Otis St.

Thursday, I drove to Asheville and took pictures of the courthouse and asked questions of those working in order to be prepared for Friday. Friday would my first trip to witness a session in this courthouse and I wanted to leave nothing to chance. This move turned out to be worth the time and effort.

Friday’s schedule included a 9:15AM plea hearing for Jason Gross and a 10:00AM plea hearing for Dr. Jerry Gross. In front of these two hearings, another man was before Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell. This man was already incarcerated and was facing additional charges. His hearing ended and Jason Gross and his attorney took their appointed seats.

Before the Judge could address the plea agreement, he moved through several required steps including an initial appearance hearing and an arraignment. Jason was advised of his rights, informed of the charges, advised he could have a public attorney and told the difference between and indictment and bill of information. Jason had already secured David B. Freedman as an attorney. Upon entering the courtroom, the Judge acknowledged Mr. Freedman and said it had been years since he had seen him. This was typically southern friendly.
Continue reading Unforgettable Day in Asheville (video)