Key player in the running of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in California, Marissa Duenas has agreed to a plea deal with the US Attorney’s Office (USAO). Serving as the human resources manager for the KOJC branch in Van Nuys, Duenas has chosen to enter a guilty plea to conspiracy to defraud the United States in return for a lessened sentence. The plea deal also involves a USAO agreement to have the remaining allegations on the indictment against her deleted.
Obtained by GMA Integrated News, the 16-page plea bargain document details Duenas’ admission to plotting false weddings with others. These “sham marriages” sought to preserve the US immigration status of KOJC members who were not citizens by matching them with other church members with US citizenship.
Specifics of the false scheme
The plea bargain claims Duenas and her other accomplices set up a network of false marriages meant to fool immigration officials. Through their planned weddings, these bogus unions let non-citizen KOJC members stay in the United States by getting legal status. Duenas was important in the program, guaranteeing the ongoing running of the national church’s operations. This kind of marriage fraud is a federal crime, hence the charges leveled against her match the gravity of the violation.
According to the records, Duenas signed the plea deal on Monday in the United States together with John Littrell, her legal counsel. The next day Assistant US Attorney Gregory Stapes signed the agreement. Though a hearing date for the official acceptance of the plea has not yet been set, the conditions of the bargain provide Duenas’ cooperation and admission of guilt a reduced sentence.
Other Legal Actions and Conspiracy Notes
Duenas is not the only person connected to the misleading actions inside the KOJC. Another charge in the case, Maria De Leon handled fictitious immigration paperwork for church members. De Leon is awaiting sentence, set for January 27, 2024; she also negotiated a plea agreement. Duenas and De Leon are part of a larger probe on KOJC’s operations in the United States whereby church members have been linked to several unlawful acts including labor exploitation, financial mismanagement, and visa fraud.
Legal Troubles of Quiboloy and More General Conventions
Leader of KOJC, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy finds himself in the middle of a far more extensive legal tempest. A federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Central District of California has charged him with multiple serious offenses. These comprise children’ sex trafficking as well as conspiracies involving deception, coercion, and force to engage in sex trafficking. Quiboloy faces further allegations including financial fraud, human trafficking, and bulk cash smuggling. With Quiboloy reportedly running an operation bringing members into the United States under false pretenses, abusing them for labor, and requesting donations under false pretenses, his indictment presents a concerning image of systematic abuse inside the leadership of the church.
For his suspected involvement in a labor trafficking operation, Quiboloy is on the wanted list maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). US authorities claim that Quiboloy’s company is accused of bringing members to the United States using fraudulently obtained visas, where they were compelled to solicit money under the cover of charity. But apparently these gifts were turned back into money for the extravagant lives of KOJC’s officials, including Quiboloy personally.
Quiboloy has always refuted any accusations directed against him. His legal problems, nevertheless, have gone beyond American boundaries. He is also under a range of grave accusations in the Philippines. These include under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, qualified human trafficking—which is non-bailable. For violations involving child exploitation, Quiboloy also faces charges under the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
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Arrest of Quiboloy and continuous legal actions
Following an exhaustive investigation of the KOJC complex in Davao City starting on August 24, Quiboloy was detained by Philippine authorities on September 8, 2023 By then Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos acknowledged the arrest: Quiboloy was caught within the facility following several weeks of avoiding officials. The legal team of Quiboloy has defined his submission as a choice taken to stop “lawless violence” from spreading over the region. His response claims that the accusations are a part of a larger conspiracy aiming to discredit him and his ministry.
Apart from the taxes in the US and the Philippines, Quiboloy still comes under close public and legal authority inspection. Although his large circle of fans and followers inside the KOJC is still intact, his capacity to guide and influence his company is under more and more jeopardy as court cases develop.
Ultimately, a Legal Reckoning for KOJC Officials
Marissa Duenas’s guilty plea represents still another chapter in the protracted inquiry into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and its divisive leader, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. Duenas’s admission to her part in planning false weddings for immigration purposes throws light on the degree of illicit activity connected to the activities of the church in the United States and helps to untangle the case. Duenas and her co-accused wait for sentence while Quiboloy’s legal battles in the US and the Philippines get more intense. The broad ramifications of this case indicate that as authorities try to destroy the illicit operations of the church and bring its officials to prison, further disclosures could potentially show up.
