https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/crime/2025/08/27/529579/houston-ministry-raided-by-fbi-as-part-of-multi-state-investigation-into-abuse-by-church-leaders/

A Houston ministry building was raided Wednesday morning as part of a multi-state investigation into two self-proclaimed religious leaders, according to the FBI’s Houston office and the U.S. Department of Justice.

A building used by Joshua Media Ministries International Global (JMMI), located in the 14300 block of the North Freeway in Houston, was raided by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, according to a spokesperson for the FBI in Houston. As the raid was taking place, the DOJ announced that two of the leaders for Kingdom of God Global Church — which was formerly called JMMI Global — were indicted for their alleged roles in a forced labor and money laundering conspiracy that victimized people in Florida, Michigan, Missouri and Texas.

The two leaders — David Taylor, 53, and Michelle Brannon, 56 — were arrested Wednesday morning in North Carolina and Florida as part of a nationwide "takedown" of their alleged forced labor organization, according to the DOJ.

"Combating human trafficking is a top priority for the Department of Justice," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said in a statement. "We are committed to relentlessly pursuing and ending this scourge and obtaining justice for the victims."

According to the federal indictment, Taylor and Brannon have been accused of one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor, eight counts of forced labor and one count of money laundering.

Taylor and Brannon are accused of operating nine donation-seeking call centers as part of their ministry throughout the country. The indictment identifies the JMMI Global building in Houston as one of the call centers where alleged forced labor was taking place.

In the indictment, Taylor is accused of "creating rules to control the victims," while Brannon is accused of "enforcing Taylor's rules."

Taylor and Brannon are also accused of requiring victims to work in call centers for long hours without pay, according to the DOJ. The two would also allegedly punish victims with "public humiliation, additional work, food and shelter restrictions, psychological abuse, forced repentance, sleep deprivation, physical assaults, and threats of divine judgment in the form of sickness, accidents, and eternal damnation" if they failed to meet donation goals.

Conspiracy to commit forced labor and forced labor both carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Conspiracy to commit money laundering is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the properties involved.

Defense attorneys for Taylor and Brannon were not listed in online court records as of Wednesday morning.