ASLAN Int’l Fraud Case Ends With Son Sentenced to Prison

From a suspected feigned illness to a car packed with shredded documents, the COVID-era case reads like a crime thriller.

The criminal COVID fraud case involving Evan Edwards, his son Joshua, and their ministry ASLAN International has concluded. Joshua Edwards was sentenced June 3 to four years and three months in prison.

Edwards family, from left: son Josh, Evan, wife Mary Jane, and daughter Joy.

U.S. District Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe sentenced the younger Edwards to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud. His attorney expects he will be deported to Canada, his home country, after completing his sentence.

Evan and Joshua Edwards were arrested in December 2022 for fraudulently obtaining more than $8 million in COVID relief funds.

The family tried to use at least $3.7 million of those funds to buy a home in Golden Oaks, a luxury development at Walt Disney World. Federal authorities intervened before the sale was completed.

ASLAN International was founded in 2005 by Evan Edwards and relocated from Ohio to Orlando, Florida, in 2018. In its loan applications, the ministry claimed to have more than 480 employees and an average monthly payroll of $2,764,438.

But neighboring tenants at the listed business address told federal agents they “had not observed anyone coming in or out of ASLAN’s office, to include deliveries, or seen other signs that the office was being occupied.”

When U.S. Secret Service agents attempted to search the family’s Florida residence on Sept. 17, they found it empty. “No persons or vehicles were located at the residence.”

Later that day, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement stopped the Edwards family on I-75 for a speeding violation. Officers noticed computer bags, a document shredder and large clear garbage bags containing what appeared to be shredded documents. The vehicle was packed with suitcases and other bags.

The family said they were “on their way to Texas for a conference, but could not give any specifics about the conference.”

A search of the vehicle also turned up suitcases containing business records, financial documents and a handwritten note detailing that the Department of Homeland Security had frozen their account because of an SBA/PPP loan.

After their arrest, questions arose about Evan Edwards’ competency to stand trial. He failed to appear for a hearing, and his attorney, Erin Hyde, told the court, “Mr. Edwards appears to be nonverbal. I don’t know that he understood anything that I said.” U.S. Attorney Kara Wick said Edwards refused to get in a wheelchair to leave his cell.

At a January 2023 hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Hoffman Price, psychiatrist Dr. Ryan Hall testified that he had determined Edwards was unfit to stand trial — after spending approximately 15 minutes with him, according to a transcript obtained by NBC News. The judge raised questions about whether Edwards might be feigning illness, saying she was “unable to determine if it’s a medical issue or if it’s a mental issue or some combination of the same.”

Charges against Evan Edwards were dropped in March 2025 after he was deemed incompetent to stand trial. Physicians determined he was suffering from “moderate to severe dementia and significant and permanent cognitive deficits,” according to NBC News.

Joshua Edwards’ attorney, Andrew Searle, sought to portray his client as simply acting on the instructions of his family, including his mom and sister.

The government recommended a 36-month sentence — which would have amounted to time served — but the judge sentenced him to 15 months longer.

TO OUR READERS: The mission of MinistryWatch is to help Christian donors become more faithful stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. Do you know of a story that will help us fulfill our mission, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? If so, please email us at [email protected].

Access to MinistryWatch content is free.  However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts.  To make a donation, click here.