A former church leader has pleaded guilty in federal court of the Northern District of California to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud related to a scheme that defrauded African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church congregations in California, as well as multiple private lenders, through mortgage fraud.
Sheila Quintana, 71, from Vallejo, was indicted along with co-defendant Staccato Powell in January 2022 on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, as well as two counts of wire fraud. Powell was additionally charged with one count of mail fraud.
On April 18, 2025, Quintana was charged again and waived her indictment rights. On April 22, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with the government.
According to court documents, Powell and Quintana were officers of the Western Episcopal District, Inc. (WED, Inc.), formed by Powell in 2016 after she became bishop of AME Zion Church’s Western Episcopal District. Powell served as CEO, while Quintana became chief finance officer (CFO) in March 2017.
Quintana pleaded guilty to using false statements to obtain grant deeds and fake resolutions for mortgages without authorization during her time in this position.
Additionally, Quintana admitted to fraudulently obtaining mortgages on the following church properties:
- Kyles Temple in Vallejo: Quintana was part of a team that bought a $1.5 million episcopal residence in Granite Bay, financed by a $1 million bank loan. To secure the extra $500,000, they used two church properties as collateral, including Kyles Temple in Vallejo. Quintana, the chair of Kyles Temple’s Board of Trustees and CFO of WED, Inc., created a fake resolution to authorize the loan without an actual meeting.
- First AME Zion Church in San Jose: In October 2017, Quintana helped create documents to use the First AME Zion Church in San Jose as collateral for a loan to buy a home for the new pastor. She made a fake resolution on the church's letterhead, claiming the pastor could sign all real estate documents after a “unanimous vote. ” While processing the loan, Quintana found that the property had an interest from the AME Zion Church of Los Angeles. She then made another fake resolution stating that this church agreed to give the San Jose property to WED, Inc. With these resolutions, WED, Inc. got a loan to buy the house. In late November 2017, Quintana discovered that the San Jose congregation was contesting the transaction and the supposed unanimous vote. In August 2019, she helped refinance the 2017 loan, again using the San Jose church as collateral.
- Greater Cooper AME Zion Church in Oakland: As CFO of WED, Inc., Quintana borrowed $525,000 in May 2019, using the Greater Cooper AME Zion Church in Oakland as collateral. She signed the necessary documents, including transfer deeds and a deed of trust. Quintana later emailed Powell about the expected cash amount, then discovered the property had $1.5 million in debt and unauthorized church objections.
- University AME Zion Church of Palo Alto: Quintana understood in 2017 that Powell had informed the Reverend of University AME Zion Church of Palo Alto that Powell planned to use the University church as collateral for a loan. Quintana prepared the paperwork needed for the transfer of the University AME Zion Church to WED, Inc. In March 2018, Quintana received paperwork for a $2 million loan using University AME Zion Church as collateral, and emailed the loan papers to Powell for him to sign. WED, Inc. encumbered the University AME Church with loans totaling $3.6 million, which Quintana admitted was debt that the congregation’s membership neither knew about nor authorized.
- First AME Zion Church in Los Angeles: Beginning in December 2017, Quintana helped with documents and transactions to use the First AME Zion Church in Los Angeles as collateral for a new loan. She learned from Powell that the church's pastor told him that the membership had approved the transfer of title from the church to WED, Inc. Quintana prepared fake resolutions to document these approvals and sent them to the lender. She signed a resolution for WED, Inc. on Dec. 15, 2017, and executed loan documents on Dec. 20, 2017. Quintana admitted she knew the resolution contained false information.
Quintana also admitted to preparing and signing three checks for a total of $67,500 from the WED, Inc. bank account to her spouse between September 2018 and June 2019 in an attempt to keep the payments confidential, only informed Powell.
WED, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in July 2020, claiming assets of 11 churches and other properties worth $26.3 million against debts of $12.5 million.
Quintana's next court appearance is July 15. She faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy related to wire and mail fraud.