MACON -- The founders of Angel Food Ministries, a now-defunct nonprofit that sold discounted boxes of food through a network of churches and other host sites, pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges including fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.
Joe and Linda Wingo were named in a 49-count indictment that includes allegations that they used for-profit businesses to transfer money from Angel Food to them for their personal benefit. Linda Wingo is also accused of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. The indictment alleges that she instructed someone identified as "B.B." to remove and destroy a hard drive of a computer located at Linda Wingo's home.
Also named in the 71-page indictment are one of the Wingos' sons and a former employee of the ministry's procurement department. The son, Andy Wingo, and Harry Michaels entered pleas of not guilty Tuesday.
In the court Thursday, Linda Wingo appeared to be reading a Bible as her husband, known to some as "Pastor Joe," stared stoically ahead. Sitting behind them were about a dozen supporters.
Joe Wingo was the first to be arraigned by U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles H. Weigle.
Weigle denied Wingo's request for a court-appointed attorney, saying that based on information supplied to the court, Wingo should have adequate resources for a private attorney. The most recent 990 filing by Angel Food to the Internal Revenue Service said Joe Wingo received $697,037 in 2009 as head of the Monroe-based ministry. The same filing said Linda Wingo received $100,480 as a director and corporate secretary for the nonprofit.
"You ought to have resources to hire any lawyer in the state," Weigle said.
Attorney Ronald Houser, who stood in for Linda Wingo's attorney, Edward Tolley, said her resources may not be available for Joe Wingo to use because she must mount a defense as well. But the judge said there was no indication the Wingos, with very few exceptions, had any separation of assets.
After court, the Wingos did not respond to questions. Houser and several of the Wingos' supporters declined to comment.
Tolley has said in the past, though, that the Wingos feel they will be vindicated. "They ran this ministry for a number of years, and they fed a lot of people," he said. "They're very disappointed to be included in this indictment."
At its peak, Angel Food sold as many as 600,000 boxes of food per month, using a distribution system that covered 45 states.
Angel Food, which was formed in 1994, closed its doors in September, citing the rising costs of food, fuel and operations. But it also paid a hefty sum in legal expenses stemming from a two-year federal investigation that produced the indictment. The ministry's Walton County headquarters is for sale, and a church founded by the Wingos has ended services.
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