Angel Food Ministries calls suit a money grab

The Joe Wingo family, which runs the $100 million-plus Angel Food Ministries, a Georgia nonprofit being investigated by the FBI and sued by two of its board members, say the suit filed last week is a power and money grab.

“This is about money, and AFM appears golden to opportunists,” the ministry said in a written statement.

Angel Food sells groceries at a deep discount through a network of more than 5,000 churches, including more than 200 in metro Atlanta.

The suit by board members Craig Atnip from Texas and David “Tony” Prather of Georgia, attempts to remove Joe and Linda Wingo and their son Wesley from their controlling positions. Another son, Andy, is a former ministry officer. The suit alleges the Wingos enriched themselves by millions of dollars through sweetheart deals, kickbacks from grocery vendors and using company credit cards to buy personal items.

The FBI and IRS searched the nonprofit’s offices last month, but are not talking about the raid. Angel Food’s statement acknowledged a grand jury investigation into alleged “financial irregularities concerning certain individuals.”

The Angel Food statement likened Prather to the prodigal son, a biblical story of a son who wastes his inheritance. It said Atnip has been in his position as chief operating officer for only six weeks. The two are hoping to take advantage of the investigation to reap a “windfall” of years of labor by the Wingos, the family said.

Atnip, in a reply, noted he had served on the board in 2006 and 2007, and resigned, in part, because the nonprofit failed to follow IRS-recommended governance practices.

“We seek no personal money in this lawsuit,” he said.

He and Prather want the Wingos to return money to the organization, and to keep Angel Food Ministries from losing nonprofit status, Atnip said.