Quiboloy church under FBI investigation for alleged human trafficking — report

The church of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Hawaii is facing a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) due to alleged human trafficking, a report said. (Photo: Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy/Facebook)

The church of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Hawaii is facing a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) due to alleged human trafficking, a report said.

In a report by Hawaii News Now, the FBI is said to be investigating Felina Salinas, the business manager of Quiboloy’s Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name in Waipahu, Hawaii for supposed human trafficking.

She was nabbed by the federal authorities in a plane leased by Quiboloy last month for allegations of attempting to smuggle $350,000 cash out of the United States (U.S.)

Following her arrest, sources of the news outlet disclosed that an agent from FBI’s Los Angeles office was sent to Hawaii to pursue the trafficking angle.

The news outlet reported that Salinas was previously arrested in 2015 when she allegedly assaulted her fellow church member, Kristina Angeles, who claimed that she was forced to raise money for the church.

Angeles, in her police statement, wrote that she had to sell “manapua and Krispy Kreme” doughnuts for hours, “rain or shine” as part of the church’s charity program. Aside from her, young church members were also seen selling baked goods at the Kapolei Costco and near White Plains in Ewa Beach.

Due to this, the consumers accused the church’s charity, Children’s Joy Foundation, of aggressive fundraising and even misrepresentation.

Angeles revealed that members were punished if they were not able to sell enough. The punishment, the victim said, included verbal and physical violence.

“We’ve been slapped or yelled at. The last time, I … received punches over my arms and legs,” she recalled.

According to the police report which contained censored photos of her injuries, Angeles added that while in the Philippines, she was sent to a church compound where they made her wear an “orange t-shirt” and shave her head.

The former church member said she came to Hawaii in October 2014 on a religious visa. The church initially filed a missing person’s report after Angeles ran away from them in 2015.

Clare Hanusz, a local attorney, said that Angeles’ allegations “did indicate some of the classic signs of human trafficking.”

“People who have come under religious worker visas before have sometimes been connected with human trafficking,” Hanusz noted.

But Salinas’ lawyer, Michael Green, defended the accusations had no merit, and that the case “never should have been filed in the first place.”

Meanwhile, Lawyer Israelito Torreon, counsel of Quiboloy, stressed they did not receive any notification about the ongoing inquiry conducted by the FBI in connection with the alleged trafficking links of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

“I verified the information with Pastor Quiboloy and we have not received a notice on any investigation,” Torreon was quoted as saying in an ABS-CBN report on Tuesday.

“That is shocking. Somebody must be orchestrating all of these. I hope that person will be enlightened by the Lord Almighty to stop this because that’s really not true,” he continued, clarifying that Quiboloy’s congregation is a religious one and is not involved in human trafficking.