Weeks after six members of a predominantly black church in Colorado Springs were convicted of wire fraud by a federal jury, the church’s pastor continues to assert their innocence.
Pastor Rose Banks renewed claims that federal authorities unfairly targeted members of Colorado Springs Fellowship Church, alleging the prosecutions were tainted by racism and unfair tactics.
“I think at this point, we’re disillusioned with the system itself,” said Banks, whose son, David Banks, and son-in-law, Gary Walker, are among those convicted in a scheme that authorities say netted them $5 million.
The six face up to 20 years in prison and a $10 million fine. They are scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 14.
Rose Banks’ daughter, LaWanna Clark, received a six-month sentence after a related perjury conviction in 2010.
The criminal case focused on the business dealings of a fledgling software company called IRP Solutions.
With offices just down the street from the church, and an employee roster rounded out by church members, the company said it was close to a series of lucrative deals when it was raided by FBI agents in February 2005.
A 2009 grand jury indictment alleged the company was peddling sham software while bilking staffing companies it relied upon to supply labor. The men profited by submitting phony work orders on nonexistent contracts, the indictment said.
The men countered they had accrued “normal business debt” while pursuing big-dollar contracts for software designed to help law enforcement agencies manage their investigative files and reports.
One sale could have paid the company’s debts, said Cliff Walker, an IRP executive, who said one potential payout approached $100 million.
Cliff Walker, who wasn’t charged, said the $5 million went to employees, consultants and contractors, not IRP executives. Drained of resources, the men defended themselves at trial after concluding their government-appointed attorneys had sided against them, Rose Banks said.
“If they’re going to run with $5 million, they would have done it by now,” she said.
Rose Banks and her supporters say government investigators singled out company officials who belonged to the church, at 451 Windchime Place off East Woodmen Road in the north part of the city. The government also appeared focused on tying the church itself to wrongdoing, they say.
