The pastor of the New Christian Covenant Center once located in Renton, who defrauded two dozen parishioners out of more than $1.6  million, pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to wire fraud and money laundering, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

Anthony C. Morris, 48, admitted his fraud was a ‘Ponzi’ scheme where early investors were  paid off from the money taken from later investors. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones will sentence Morris on April 6.

The congregation meets in Tukwila.

The federal news release outlines the case:

According to the plea agreement and charges filed in the case, between 2003 and April  2011, MORRIS convinced various investors to provide him money based on false and fraudulent  representations.  Morris told various investors that their money would be placed in an  overseas trading program, or used to invest in property for his church.  Morris represented  that  the investments would provide a high rate of return in a short period of time.  Morris promised to return investor money in as little as a few days or a few weeks, with returns of as much as 400  percent.  All these representations were false, and in fact MORRIS simply used the funds from later investors to pay off earlier investors.  Some of the money went for MORRIS’ expenses and  for the expenses of his church.  In one 2007 instance described in the plea agreement, a victim  provided MORRIS with a $30,000 loan for investment purposes, on the promise that MORRIS  would repay him, with interest, in 30 days.  Despite repeated promises the money was never  repaid.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the exact amount of restitution is still being  calculated, but Morris has agreed to pay the full amount determined by the court.  Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and money laundering is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal  Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys  Carl  Blackstone and Matthew Diggs.

Federal officials offered tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of a Ponzi scheme.

• Discuss investment ideas with an unbiased third party such as an attorney; an accountant; or a licensed financial advisor
• The historical average stock market returns are around 8 to 12% a year.  Investments which claim to be able to exceed these amounts (for example 2% a month or 300% a year, etc.) should be viewed very skeptically.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Don’t trust someone with your money (whether for investment or for loan) just because you know them or because they have an impressive or “safe” sounding title
• Avoid secretive investments where you have difficulty in determining how they work or when you will get your money back
• Check out official websites such as for the SEC, the FBI or the Washington Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division to see if the investment being offered has characteristics of a scam