The leader of a New York-based Black Hebrew Israelite church was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in federal prison after he admitted to using church funds to personally enrich himself, and then concealed the millions of dollars he stole from the federal government.

U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martini sentenced Jermaine Grant, 44, of Burlington Township, after Grant, who is also known as the Chief High Priest Tazadaqyah of the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States.

The treasurer of the church, Lincoln Warrington, 50, of Teaneck, pleaded guilty to the same charge. Judge Martini sentenced Warrington, who helped divert millions of dollars to Grant, to 12 months and one day in prison.

Both men also received three years of supervised release.

Prosecutors said from at least 2007 to 2015, the two used a variety of methods to carry out the “multi-faceted” scheme, which helped Grant pay for vacations, luxury items and private school tuition for his children.

The two men, prosecutors said, set up an entertainment company, Black Icon Entertainment, to help make it look like Grant was an industry mogul whose wealth was derived from the company.

In reality, Grant, with the assistance of Warrington, was funneling millions of dollars through different channels from the church for his personal use, authorities said.

Grant and Warrington embezzled $2.4 million through the entertainment company, assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret A. Mahoney said, and used it to rent properties across the country to give them a “facade” that they were running a real company.

The two wanted to “fool the church members,” Mahoney said.

In the Beverley Hills property the company rented, investigators found $40,000 of cash throughout the property and no evidence that anyone had ever worked there.

At the sentencing Tuesday, Grant’s attorney, Gerald Lefcourt, argued the man “never received a penny of the money” directed to the company. He said it was a legit business venture that had not been successful for Grant.

Grant, authorities said, also spent an additional $2.9 million of church money on other personal expenses including rent and chauffeured luxury cars to take his children to school.

In an effort to conceal the scheme, Grant omitted these benefits from his individual income tax returns, authorities said. Neither man reported the $5.3 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and failed to pay at least $250,000 in taxes, authorities said.

Judge Martini said as the treasurer for the church, Warrington was “most responsible for enabling Mr. Grant.”

Lawyers for both men asked the judge to sentence their clients to probation and no prison time. Lefcourt called the sentencing “inappropriate.”

“I have never seen a church prosecution like this,” he said, referring to the eight years federal authorities spent investigating Grant and the church.

Grent declined to comment outside the courtroom.

Jermaine Grant is embraced by parishioners of his church outside of Newark federal court Tuesday.

In 2008, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) described Grant as “the man with the most power over the extremist Hebrew Israelite movement.” Grant has previously preached that black Jesus will return to earth to enslave and kill white people, according to the Law Center, which is why the organization has classified the church as a black nationalist hate group.

According to the New York Post, the man and woman who killed a Jersey City detective and three civilians in a December mass shooting “were repeatedly seen attending” services at Grant’s church in Harlem. Federal authorities said the shooters were fueled by a radical ideology loosely affiliated with the Black Hebrew Israelites.

The last leader of the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ was stripped of his title and shunned from the church for misusing its funds, Mahoney said.

The departure created room for Grant to rise through the church’s ranks. The Bronx native dropped out of school at age 14 and became a devout parishioner of the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ.

By 2000, he was its leader.

Prosecutors said their investigation of Grant and the church began in 2007 and spanned nearly a decade. Investigators executed search warrants at a variety of locations linked to Grant, including his $18,000 per month Upper East Side apartment that the church paid for. They found cash stuffed in trash bags, in drawers and the apartment littered with designer handbags and other accessories.

“He used that church like a piggy bank,” said Mahoney.

Grant was embraced outside of the federal courthouse Tuesday.

More than 100 people huddled together waiting for Grant. As he emerged, they cheered and chanted. He made his way through the crowd, giving speeches and igniting more cheers.

The group followed him down the street as he left courthouse, where he hopped into the passenger seat of a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser as the crowd dispersed.

Staff writer Joe Brandt contributed to this story.

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow on Twitter @monavage.

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