Brian Shane Haigler of Mint Hill, North Carolina, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded real estate investors, church members, and the federal COVID-19 relief program out of nearly $1.5 million, according to a Mar. 16 announcement by the U.S. Secret Service Communication Team.
The case highlights how financial crimes can impact local communities and exploit trusted institutions such as churches. Haigler's actions affected numerous victims over several years and involved misappropriation of both private investments and public relief funds.
Senior Special Agent Keith Wrenn said the investigation began in December 2022 when local investors reported suspected fraud. "It quickly snowballed from two or three victims to as many as 15 to 20 victims," Wrenn said. "We noticed every time we interviewed a victim, they led us to two or three other people that we didn’t know about. We quickly got up to 20 to 25 victims." Haigler initially recruited friends and acquaintances for real estate deals but used their money for personal expenses and paid earlier investors with new funds.
Haigler also served as treasurer at Living Praise Church in Monroe, North Carolina, where he wrote checks and made withdrawals totaling more than $389,000 from church accounts between 2019 and 2021. Wrenn explained that Haigler used church funds to pay supposed investment returns: "They thought they were receiving their money from their investment, but he was actually taking money from the church to pay back the investors for their monthly interest payments." He further drained the church’s building fund before issuing smaller checks to himself.
In April 2021, Haigler applied for a $311,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration on behalf of the church without its members' knowledge; most proceeds went into his personal account. Retired Secret Service agent Carter Catlett III investigated on behalf of the SBA: "He (Haigler) had run the COVID loan assistance out as far as he could run it. None of that was legit. Then he had this investment scheme going on, which was massive," Catlett said.
Steven Gutierrez, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service’s Charlotte Field Office, credited cooperation among agencies: "The U.S. Secret Service is trusted to protect our community against financial predators. During these financial investigations, our agency targets criminals that undermine our community’s financial infrastructure." Wrenn added: "Interagency partnerships are critical. This case involved us, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the SBA... Our expertise in investigating and SBA’s knowledge of the EIDL loan system came together to make this case."
Haigler is awaiting assignment to a federal facility while authorities continue searching for assets that may be seized for restitution.
