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Minister could get 310 years in prison
Culpeper pastor pleads guilty to fraud charges, faces 310 years in prisonDate published: 6/25/2008 BY DONNIE JOHNSTON A Culpeper minister faces a possible 310-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty yesterday to obtaining money by false pretenses from the church where he was pastor for 17 years. The Rev. Charles Shifflett also pleaded guilty in Culpeper County Circuit Court to filing fraudulent documents to obtain a workers' compensation award, obtaining money by false pretenses from two insurance companies and making false statements on Virginia income-tax returns from 2003-05. In addition to a total of 310 years in prison, Shifflett faces fines of up to $50,000. The 58-year-old pastor will be sentenced Oct. 8. As part of Shifflett's plea agreement, Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Close dropped 19 felony and one misdemeanor charges against the defendant's wife, Janice Shifflett. Other felony charges against Charles Shifflett were also dropped as part of the deal. Shifflett pleaded guilty to inflating his income by $300 a week to the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission in order to receive higher benefits. He reported hurting his back unloading a pony at a church function. In addition, according to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Dale Durrer, Shifflett was receiving supplemental income during the period when he was not supposed to be working. When Shifflett's church salary was reduced $250 a week because of those insurance payments, Durrer said the pastor had the same amount shifted to his wife's salary as a housing allowance. She also worked at the church. That money was not reported on the couple's tax returns, even though Janice Shifflett was not an ordained minister and not entitled to a housing allowance under Virginia tax laws, Durrer said. "Love offerings" and proceeds from the sale of livestock also were not reported as income, he said. Shifflett was pastor of Calvary Baptist Church from 1988-2005. During his tenure, the congregation grew to be the largest in the county. The minister's life began to unravel in 2005 when several former students of Calvary Baptist Academy charged that he had physically mistreated them while they were attending the church-operated school in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Under a plea agreement, Shifflett eventually pleaded guilty to one felony count of cruelty to children and six misdemeanor assault-and-battery charges. He was given a five-year suspended sentence and ordered to perform 700 hours of community service. As the child-endangerment case was unfolding, a church split occurred and about 150 members assisted the minister in forming the First Baptist Church of Culpeper, where he became pastor. During this upheaval, charges about Shifflett's manipulation of church finances also arose. These allegations led to an investigation by the Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Taxation and the charges to which Shifflett pleaded guilty yesterday. In a prepared statement, Culpeper Common- wealth Attorney Gary Close called the plea deal "an appropriate disposition." "The commonwealth can argue for whatever sentence it deems appropriate at sentencing after consulting with the victims," he said. Close said the victims had signed the plea agreement. Donnie Johnston:
Date published: 6/25/2008
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