Kevin Smith’s money trail

Kevin Smith kept daily tabs on his flock’s contributions to his multimillion-dollar empire with daily reports on collections and expenditure, and personally contacted members if their life insurance policies under his management were in arrears.

The documents offer a glimpse into the now-deceased leader of the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries juggled his various operations, sometimes spending more than $500,000 in a single day to maintain at least five properties.

Among the monthly expenses were Jamaica Public Service, National Water Commission and FLOW bills for properties at The Palms at Richmond in St Ann; the Gemstone Estate villa at Hatfield Meadows in Coral Gardens, St James; his Dorchester Drive home in Ironshore, Montego Bay; and the 144 Albion Road-based church in the Second City.

In addition, our news team saw payments to Hawkeye Security for his four-star villa and payments and account information for insurance policies with the Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) and Sagicor, including coverage for his home.

Land taxes for four of the five properties, including the church’s location, totalled $386,790.00 in arrears, according to an April 14, 2021 entry. A breakdown showed $69,400 for Gemstone Estate; $233,920 for the Dorchester Drive home; $61,120 for a “Dunbar Pe” property; and $22,350 for the $4-million property he leased to build Pathways International.

A source close to the 144 Albion Road property told The Sunday Gleaner that Smith had reached a deal to acquire the land with payments to be made in instalments.

Smith was reportedly close to completing the payments, but stopped meeting his monthly obligations and was focused on acquiring additional properties.

Prior to Smith’s death, the property owner reportedly pleaded with him to complete the deal, but the bishop refused.

While it appears that the property will remain in the hands of the current owner, he is reportedly anxious to be rid of it and is hoping that the handlers of Smith’s estate will complete the deal.

Gemstone Estate is listed on several popular international travel and accommodation sites. Although some sites noted that rooms were available at Gemstone Estate, starting at US$497 per night, others indicated that they were not facilitating bookings to the location currently. A Google search notation said that the villa has been permanently closed. The Sunday Gleaner was unable to confirm the true status of the operation.

A cloud of mystery surrounds Smith’s empire following his death a fortnight ago in a motor vehicle accident in St Catherine as he was being escorted by the police to Kingston to be slapped with murder and firearm-related charges.

Smith had presided over a deadly October 17 ritual at the Pathways church in which 39-year-old Taneka Gardner and 38-year-old Michael Scott were reportedly murdered. A third person, 18-year-old Kevaughn Plummer, was also shot dead when he reportedly attacked cops with a machete as they entered the church to bring the bloody mayhem to an end.

Andre Ruddock, who is currently before the courts, has reportedly confessed to slashing Gardner’s throat.

One Andre Ruddock appeared in the Pathways documents at various times, with an April 6, 2021 entry, for example, noting that he was given $3,150 to purchase “diazine” to treat lumber on the farm.

Also appearing among the documents is a Taneka Gardner, who purchased seaweed on at least two occasions.

One Kevaughn Plummer surfaced on March 29, 2021, where he was said to be given $5,000 to buy a case of Lucozade for Smith’s household.

Several other persons appear on payroll documents, including kitchen staff paid $2,000 daily, laundry personnel earning $1.071.43 per day, and labourers at $2,000 per day.

Other expenses for repairs to air conditioning units, pool maintenance and other upkeep were also documented.

Members of Pathways Christian Cathedral – as the church was sometimes called – were charged a fee of $500 for adults and $100 for children for the ‘Monthly Miracle Covenant Seed for the Churches Ministerial Upliftment’. They also paid tithes, offering, covenant seed or other special contributions as requested by Smith.

Membership cards also came at a cost, with adults and children paying $500 and $100, respectively, while widows were charged $200.

“The more one gives, the more God gets happy,” one church member told The Sunday Gleaner in defence of the numerous payments they would make. “The leader would help a lot of people in need, but nobody is talking about that.”

Although it was not clear from the records how Smith allocated donations to members of his flock, a line item indicating care packages with purchases of up to 100 loaves of bread at a time was seen. Members were also encouraged to donate food items, clothing and various supplies towards outreach programmes and the times documented.

Smith also lent money to members at an interest rate of 15 per cent and even began to explore the idea of establishing an informal lending business.

The church also operated a farm, which had poultry, goats, rabbits, and cattle. Weekly purchase of feed for the animals were also accounted for in the documents, while eggs were sold to the membership.

Smith also made a foray into beekeeping with a February 2 entry showing money being paid to a bee farmer of a St James address to provide two bee boxes and 12 frames at a cost of $28,000, including $9,000 for labour and $4,000 for transportation.

Special events, such as Jamaica Day hosted on Friday, February 26, also pulled in cash. Church members were invited to enjoy various Jamaican dishes and charged $200 for entry if they were dressed in national colours and $500 for those who were not. Proceeds were said to be in aid of the church building fund.

Notes also indicated that some members had not settled bills from the church’s harvest, with names, amount and contact numbers appearing in the documents.

Pathway International Kingdom Restoration Ministries is a subsidiary of Pathway International Foundation Limited, which is registered as a charity organisation with the Companies Office of Jamaica. Smith and Daphne Frater, a nurse of a London address, are named as shareholders.

Members of the clergy in western Jamaica have distanced themselves from Smith’s religious practices, most claiming that they were not aware of his church in the parish.

Smith sold DVD recordings of his Sunday morning, Sunday night, Monday night and Wednesday night services at a cost of $200. Church members could also purchase copies of Family Training Hour and Friday Night Prophetic Services.

A former congregant had previously told our newsroom that the weekly services and consultation sessions pulled in another $1 million per week.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com