Jacksonville ‘Prophet’ Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Tax Collection Effort
Brian Carn underreported his income that exceeded $1.4 million.
This story was updated on 5/4/2026 to reflect Carn’s sentence.
Brian Carn Jr., “general overseer” of City Church International Fellowship (CCIF), and pastor of Kingdom City Church in Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to obstructing the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect his tax debts.
Brian Carn Jr. / Video screenshot @Kingdom City Church
Carn, whose website describes him as “renowned for his prophetic accuracy, humility and passion,” filed his tax return in 2016, correctly reporting that he had income exceeding $1.4 million and owed more than $600,000 in taxes.
However, Carn did not pay those taxes. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), he came up with a scheme to avoid paying them.
When the IRS attempted to collect the $600,000 in unpaid taxes by placing liens on his property and levy his bank accounts, Carn apparently amended his previous year’s tax return (for 2015) to remove $1.5 million in income.
He hired an accountant and provided him with a backdated and false employment agreement that showed an annual salary of $120,000 and a parsonage allowance of $24,000 — representing to the accountant that was his total income for the year.
In subsequent years, Carn continued to underrepresent his income. In 2020, Carn stopped filing tax returns even though he was using ministry funds to pay his personal expenses, which qualifies as income reportable to the IRS.
Carn continued to misrepresent and make false representations to the IRS that concealed his assets and income, the DOJ said.
Carn’s representations cost the United States government between $550,000 and $1,500,000, according to the DOJ. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for his crimes.
The IRS Criminal Investigation section is also still investigating the case.
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Carn posted a video to YouTube on January 16 about his guilty plea. “I’m not here to justify myself or minimize anything that’s going on. I am here to take responsibility and to allow this moment to teach us all something,” Carn said. “I don’t want to blame anybody for what has happened … I’m saying, completely, this is mine to own.”
He continued, “I want to communicate to the people who watch me all over the world. I want to say this clearly and I want to say this carefully: A lot of things I did were done out of ignorance, not out of malicious intent. But I also want to say that ignorance does not excuse responsibility.
Carn said he was confronted by the Department of Justice about his crimes, he engaged an attorney, and made the choice to plead guilty.
“I hope this moment serves as a lesson and even as a reminder to take responsibility early,” Carn said.
Update: Carn was sentenced to nine months in federal prison last week, will have one year of supervised release, and is also required to pay $1,000 a month in restitution, according to reporting by News4JAX.
“Carn has diminished his crime and expressed confidence that he won’t go to prison,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “Coupled with the false return he filed after pleading guilty, this shows that Carn does not truly understand the gravity of his conduct. Incarceration will underscore to Carn that his crimes are serious and merit a serious consequence.”
Carn’s attorney told the news outlet that Carn “understands the seriousness of his conduct” and is grateful to the judge for his “careful consideration of this case.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why does MinistryWatch report on financial fraud in the church? We report on them because one in three churches will be victimized, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. We also report on them because these crimes have real victims and cost taxpayers and other stakeholders billions of dollars every year. Even small crimes in small churches have huge consequences. We also report on them to remind our readers that they do not have to be victims. There are steps you can take to prevent financial waste, fraud, and abuse in your church or ministry. To find out more, click here.
