New Orleans pastor and businessman the Rev. Charles Southall III made his first court appearance Wednesday in U.S. District Court after he was charged by federal prosecutors on a single count of money laundering last month.
During a brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Janis van Meerveld, Southall pleaded not guilty to the charge filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He was charged in a bill of information, which typically indicates a person is cooperating with authorities and has signed a plea deal. Southall is slated to be rearraigned Oct. 18, when he is expected to plead guilty.
The sparse charging document alleges that Southall, 64, illegally moved about $100,000 from a bank account into a personal investment account. It did not note where the money came from, though the bill alleged that the money was proceeds from wire fraud.
No additional details were provided Wednesday.
Southall's attorney, Clarence Roby Jr., declined to comment.
The charge carries a sentence of as many as 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The bill also said Southall would surrender a $100,000 investment account and a 2017 Mercedes coupe.
The First Emanuel Baptist Church pastor and affiliated companies have been tied to a number of controversies in the last decade.
In 2018, Orleans Parish school district officials alleged that Southall used funds from the Edgar P. Harney Spirit of Excellence Academy, where he served as board chairman, to pay church bills. The school has since had its charter revoked. The allegations, which were sent to the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, did not result in any charges.
A year later, the city sued Southall in Civil District Court, alleging he and his companies had breached a $500,000 contract to rehabilitate and manage blighted housing units for low-income residents. Southall denied the allegations in court filings, and a final ruling in the case has yet to be made.
Southall had business relationships with former First NBC Bank CEO Ashton Ryan Jr., who currently faces 43 counts of bank fraud, filing false reports and conspiracy related to First NBC's 2017 collapse.
Two sources close to that case said that Southall is the pastor identified as "Borrower L" in court documents filed in that case, which alleged that Ryan Jr. provided money and loans to Borrower L for a business they owned together.
Southall has not faced any charges related to First NBC, and the sources said that the money laundering charge was unrelated to the First NBC matter.
It's not clear if any of the past allegations relate to the money laundering charge Southall is facing.
Until his next court date, Southall remains released on his own recognizance.