Union minister is indicted on income tax-evasion charges

COVINGTON — A Union, Ky., minister was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges he falsified tax returns and tried to evade thousands of dollars in income taxes, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.

The indictment alleges that Ronald E. Weinland, 62, minister at the Church of God — Preparing for the Kingdom of God in Cincinnati, attempted to evade taxes in the amount of $357,065 over a period of five years, starting in 2005.

Weinland's alleged acts of evasion included understating his gross income on tax forms, using church funds for personal expenses and failing to claim those funds as income. The minister also is accused of not reporting the existence of a Swiss bank account and failing to claim interest from that account as income on tax returns.

The indictment followed an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. A grand jury in Covington indicted Weinland after the case was presented to them by the U.S. Attorney.

If convicted, Weinland faces a maximum prison sentence of five years.

According to the church's Web site, Weinland has authored a book called 2008: God's Final Witness, which predicts the end of man's rule over the earth on May 27, 2012.

"As these events unfold, the world will increasingly become aware of the authenticity of the words in this book and realize that Ronald Weinland has been sent by God as His end-time prophet," the Web site says.

This story was originally published November 11, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Union minister is indicted on income tax-evasion charges."