MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Employees were back to work Thursday at the Cordova headquarters for Global Ministries Foundation, but a day after federal raids, it’s hard to say if it was business as usual.
Despite employees being present, nobody at GMF’s offices would speak on camera.
Richard Hamlet was no where to be found.
When WREG went by his Cordova home, we heard dogs barking in the background, but no one answered the door.
It all comes a day after federal agents served search warrants at Global Ministries headquarters in Memphis and at an appraiser’s office in Missouri.
U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton wouldn’t say much.
“Outside of the facts that the warrants were served yesterday in the Memphis area and in Missouri and abroad, at this point, I cannot and will not comment any further with regard to the investigation.”
An investigation WREG has learned that’s likely at a key point, according to attorneys who’ve worked similar cases.
Getting a search warrant takes probable cause, and lawyers said investigators are likely following the money.
Congressman Steve Cohen said that’s where the focus should be.
Cohen told WREG, “When federal money is involved we need to make sure it’s spent properly and not intermixed for the benefit of individuals or private groups.”
The raid in Dexter, Missouri was at the office of the Gill Group.
Records show the company handled appraisals for GMF properties in Indiana and Florida.
The company’s attorney told WREG they’re “cooperating with authorities” and hope to “clear up any misunderstanding shortly.”
The CBS affiliate in Indianapolis also reported federal activity at a GMF run complex there Wednesday.
That same complex has been the subject of recent scrutiny from the local housing authority.
The HUD Office of Inspector General didn’t offer any further comment on the investigation Thursday.