WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Preacher faces fraud charges

Preacher faces fraud charges

ABITA SPRINGS, LA (WAFB) - State police arrested a south Louisiana preacher on fraud charges Friday in Abita Springs.

They say 35-year-old John Stephen Vaughn used a fake Wyoming driver's license and the social security number of a Bogalusa two-year-old to defraud an insurance company.

Investigators say Vaughn nabbed a $20,000 commission from Allianz Life insurance company by selling a $212,000 annuity to a person who didn't exist. By the time Allianz Life realized the annuity sale was fraudulent, Vaughn had withdrawn the money from the bank account. Troopers say he also overdrew his bank account, defrauding his bank of $500.

Investigators were able to identify Vaughn due to bank surveillance photos and a MySpace web page posted on the internet. He faces insurance fraud, identity theft, and bank fraud charges in Louisiana and Tennessee. In Louisiana, he faces charges in East Baton Rouge Parish, Livingston Parish, and Jefferson Parish.

Vaughn was booked into the Livingston Parish jail and will be booked in the other jurisdictions when released.