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Rudolph Johnson

Defendant

ERC
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Person
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Defendant
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ERC
Updated

The profile

A New Jersey man, also known as "Bishop Salis Shwade," charged in March 2024 with two others over 131 tax filings for sham entities that claimed about $2.92 billion in COVID-19 employment tax credits, the largest amount claimed in any Justice Department ERC case release through September 2026. The Treasury paid about $1.03 million. The charges are allegations.

Identity and role

Rudolph Johnson, also known as "Bishop Salis Shwade," was charged by criminal complaint with Frantz Pasteur and Frederick Anderson in United States v. Johnson, Pasteur and Anderson, Mag. No. 24-10055 (D.N.J.). The complaint gives Johnson's residence as Maplewood, New Jersey, Pasteur's as Newark and Anderson's as Irvington; the U.S. Attorney's Office release describes all three as "of Irvington."

The complaint lists the entities the three allegedly owned and operated. Among them are Open Hearts and Spiritual Mind Foundation, The Urban State Corporation, Urban State of Northern America, Urban State of Foreign Securities, OHSMF Charity Holdings, Open Hearts and Spiritual Mind State Government, and The Divine Holy See of Hue. That last one is a religious organization formed in October 2022; Johnson and Anderson sat on its board of trustees.

The case and pandemic-relief role

From about June 2021 through November 2023, according to the complaint, the three filed approximately 131 returns (Forms 7200, 940, 941 and 944). The entities "had limited tax histories, never paid any W-2 wages, and made only nominal, if any, payments to the IRS." The returns claimed approximately $2,921,060,241.08 in tax benefits, including the Employee Retention Credit. The Treasury issued approximately $1,027,833.39.

The complaint splits the claims by person: Johnson more than $2,779,011,610.22, Anderson more than $125,475,032.58 and Pasteur more than $16,573,598.28. That averages about $22 million per return. The amount paid was about 0.035 percent of the amount claimed. Money that did come through was deposited to the defendants' accounts and spent on items including luxury cars; the complaint describes Johnson buying two Mercedes-Benz cars in August 2021 with checks drawn on accounts funded by refunds.

A civil referral from the IRS Office of Fraud Enforcement contributed to the case, the office said.

  • Charged: by complaint announced March 14, 2024, each with conspiracy to file false claims against the government and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud; Johnson also with three counts of money laundering (Pasteur two, Anderson three). Johnson and Pasteur appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark that day and were released on bail.
  • None of the three has been convicted; the charges are allegations. We found no later Justice Department release on the case through September 15, 2026.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

The complaint is the last public record of the case we found. The Justice Department's "largest" labels went to other cases: Keith Williams's Credit Reset case ("largest Employee Retention Credit scheme case," about $600 million claimed) and Leon Haynes ("largest … tried," about $170 million).

Sources

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