Florida Pastor And Son Accused Of Stealing $8M in COVID Funds
We’ve all heard the stories by now. During and after COVID, countless cases of fraudulently acquired relief funds have surfaced. Some people sold fake cures, others requested emergency funds to…
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(Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)We've all heard the stories by now. During and after COVID, countless cases of fraudulently acquired relief funds have surfaced. Some people sold fake cures, others requested emergency funds to cover payroll for companies that didn't even exist, and the cases keep coming.
Now, a pastor here in Florida and his son are accused of requesting and receiving over $8,000,000 in COVID relief funds. Investigators say Evan Edwards and his son, Josh Edwards tried to buy a property with the funds, saying a portion of the cash was used at one point for an attempted purchase of a mansion at Walt Disney World priced at $3.7 million dollars. The father and son defendants were both arrested on Wednesday.
Authorities say Josh Edwards applied for a $6 million dollar PPP loan in April of 2020, saying the money would go toward paying payroll, rent and utilities for his church and ministry. At that time, Edwards reportedly claimed that the church had 486 employees and a payroll of $2.7 million dollars a month. Te loan was approved and the man was sent a check for $8.4 million dollars. But things went straight to hell after that. Without notice, federal investigators showed up at the address listed on the loan application to find that the doors were locked and the building was empty. Even worse, owners of businesses that were located around the church told investigators that the building had never been occupied. Then officials checked out the website for the church. They found that donation links on the site were inoperative and some were even copied from other websites. A search of church officers led them to an acountant who was suffering from dementia and hadn't worked for the church since 2017.
Everything fell apart on Wednesday, though. That's when federal agents showed up at the Edwards' home in New Smyrna Beach and arrested them both. The father and son face six separate charges, ranging from conspiracy to commit bank fraud to visa fraud, since both suspects are from Canada. The Edwards family reportedly did missionary work in Turkey for many years before moving to Florida back in 2019. The family has been ordered to return the $8.4 million dollars. Source: WFLA.com
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Top 20 Highest-Grossing Rock Tours of 2022
The tour industry bounced back significantly in 2022 following a shutdown of nearly 18 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Billboard has an extensive breakdown of nearly every fact and figure related to touring in 2022. The biggest ranking of them all is the top 100 list of the highest-grossing tours of the year. While rapper Bad Bunny topped the list grossing over $373 million, many of rock's biggest names weren't far behind. In fact, five rock artists made up the top 10 highest-grossing tours of 2022.
So, which artists are likely swimming in tour revenue cash Scrooge McDuck-style? Scroll below to see the top 20 artists that grossed the most money on the road in 2022.
Machine Gun Kelly
Jason Koerner/Getty ImagesFORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 04: Machine Gun Kelly performs on stage during Audacy Beach Festival at Fort Lauderdale Beach on December 04, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Audacy )
Metallica
Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesNEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 24: Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of Metallica perform onstage during Global Citizen Festival 2022: New York at Central Park on September 24, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
Dead & Company
Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesNEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 31: John Mayer, Bill Kreutzman and Bob Weir of Dead & Company In Concert at Madison Square Garden on October 31, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Anna Webber/Getty ImagesNEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 17: Chris Caffery, Roddy Chong, David Z, Joel Hoekstra and members of Trans-Siberian Orchestra perform onstage during an exclusive performance at The iHeartRadio Theater in New York at iHeartRadio Theater on November 17, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for iHeart Radio)
Dave Matthews Band
Terry Wyatt/Getty ImagesFRANKLIN, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 26: Dave Matthews of Dave Matthews Band performs onstage during day two of the 2021 Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival on September 26, 2021 in Franklin, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival)
Billy Joel
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 26: Recording artist Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium on February 26, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Phish
Mike Lawrie/Getty ImagesNEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND - JULY 28: Trey Anastasio performs during the "If I Had A Song" tribute set during day three of the 2019 Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park on July 28, 2019 in Newport, Rhode Island. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
Roger Waters
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Roger Waters performs onstage at Crypto.com Arena on September 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Iron Maiden
Maria IvesGenesis
Timothy Hiatt/Getty ImagesCHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 15: Phil Collins of Genesis performs on the opening night of their North American "The Last Domino?" tour at the United Center on November 15, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images)
Imagine Dragons
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 20: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons performs onstage during the 2022 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
My Chemical Romance
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 07: My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way performs at the Red Rock Casino October 7, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Guns N' Roses
Amy Sussman/Getty ImagesINDIO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 30: Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses performs onstage with Carrie Underwood during Day 2 of the 2022 Stagecoach Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 30, 2022 in Indio, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Stagecoach)
The Eagles
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 27: Don Henley of the Eagles performs at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 27, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Paul McCartney
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesCLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 30: Paul McCartney speaks onstage during the 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on October 30, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame )
Def Leppard & Motley Crue
Emma McIntyre/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 04: (L-R) Rick Allen, Tommy Lee, Vivian Campbell, Joe Elliott, Bret Michaels, Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Rikki Rockett, C.C. DeVille, Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, and Bobby Dall speak during the press conference for THE STADIUM TOUR DEF LEPPARD - MOTLEY CRUE - POISON at SiriusXM Studios on December 04, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Michael Loccisano/Getty ImagesEAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 17: Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performs at MetLife Stadium on August 17, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
The Rolling Stones
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 06: Singer Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performs during a stop of the band's No Filter tour at Allegiant Stadium on November 6, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Coldplay
Buda Mendes/Getty ImagesRIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - SEPTEMBER 10: Chris Martin of the band Coldplay performs at the Mundo Stage during the Rock in Rio Festival at Cidade do Rock on September 10, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The famous festival Rock in Rio returns after two years of cancellation due to COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Elton John
Scott Dudelson/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 17: Musician Sir Elton John performs onstage during the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour at Dodger Stadium on November 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
They tried to buy a mansion at Walt Disney World...
