The $540K Salary That Wasn’t: Detroit Megachurch Pastor’s Nonprofit Amends Tax Forms

A Detroit megachurch pastor’s nonprofit amends six years of IRS filings after The Center Square reported a $540,000 salary, with the pastor and a tax firm now saying he received no money from the nonprofit. The original reporting: The Center Square’s investigative team, which reviews nonprofit tax filings across the country for signs of fraud or misuse of taxpayer money, flagged Perfecting Community Development Corporation over the steep, rising salaries listed for its president, Pastor Marvin Winans of Perfecting Church in Detroit. Filings listed his pay at about $540,000 last year, most of the nonprofit’s spending on its stated mission of community development. The nonprofit had also received a $500,000 Michigan state grant. Reporter Jared Strong says he tried to reach Winans by email, phone, and in person before publishing and got no response. The response: After publication, a Tennessee financial services firm, Chitwood and Chitwood, which works with churches nationwide, called The Center Square and said the salary figures were their mistake and that Winans received no money from the nonprofit. The firm said the figures were totals of paid employees but couldn’t explain how they were listed incorrectly. Winans also told his congregation he didn’t receive “a dime” from the nonprofit. Winans has still not contacted The Center Square directly. The amended filings: The firm showed Strong amended Form 990s filed with the IRS for each year back to 2020, showing no salary for Winans. The salary appeared in three places on the originals, and all three were corrected. The amendments also changed the directors list, removing two of the three directors besides Winans and adding four new names. Winans acknowledged signing the original filings, which are signed under penalty of perjury. A church leader told Strong they noticed the salaries but assumed the format was required and trusted the firm to get it right. Remaining questions: Strong says the amended filings may still contain errors. They list Winans working 20 hours a week for the nonprofit, though a source told Strong he does no work for it, and they list a woman identified elsewhere as the executive director among paid employees without listing her as a key employee with a salary, which is typically required. Chitwood and Chitwood stopped responding when Strong asked about these items. Penalties for filing errors: Strong notes that knowingly filing false information is a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and fines of $100,000 or more, while even inadvertent mistakes can bring daily fines. #Detroit #Michigan #NonprofitAccountability #CenterSquare #TheStates