A Texas man has been charged with defrauding dozens of people out of more than $3 million with phony “church flipping” real estate projects.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports Richard Reinaldo Garcia was federally charged with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. According to the charges, Garcia conned over 50 victims across the US and overseas by making “false material misstatements” that he was fundraising for church-focused endeavors. These included “church flipping” real estate projects, Christian music concerts and other religion programs.
Garcia controlled bank accounts in church-related entity names like “Ministerio Gracia,” “Gracia Church of Texas,” and “Pesar de Todo LLC.” His victims transferred their money to these accounts, labeling them as donations. However, Garcia used the funds to pay for his living expenses from August 2021 through April 2025.
Garcia’s case will go to trial in a Fort Worth federal court in October. If convicted, he faces a mandatory sentence of two years and a sentence of up to 20 years each on the counts of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy.
“The defendant allegedly took advantage of his victims’ faith by promising significant profits through investment opportunities but instead used their funds to selfishly enrich himself at their expense,” said US Attorney Ryan Raybould. “We will not stand idly by while North Texans fall victim to these unscrupulous schemes, and my office will work hard to seek out and prosecute those that commit these types of crimes.”
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