A Texas man has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for defrauding an Albany, Georgia church out of millions of dollars in insurance payments intended for repairs after Hurricane Michael. Andrew Mitchell, formerly known as Andrew Aga, 46, from Houston, was also ordered to pay nearly $4 million in restitution to victims across several states.
Mitchell received a sentence of 235 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He must pay $2,895,903.01 in restitution to Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company and $1,082,993.41 to additional victims for similar offenses committed in Texas and Louisiana. His federal sentence will run concurrently with a separate prison term imposed by the 29th Judicial District Court of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Mitchell pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud on March 27.
“Andrew Mitchell will spend nearly two decades in prison for concocting a devious scheme to swindle insurance money from a historic downtown Albany church, a crime he’s committed in other communities after natural disasters,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. “Our office and law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue and prosecute these types of fraudsters who prey on people at their most vulnerable.”
“At a time when victims were still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Michael, Andrew Mitchell took advantage of that vulnerability for his own personal gain,” said Georgia Insurance Commissioner John F. King. “I am proud of our investigators and their work in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to protect hardworking Georgia families and hold the defendant responsible for his actions.”
Court documents state that Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Pine Avenue was heavily damaged when Hurricane Michael struck Albany as a Category 3 storm in October 2018. The church’s insurer, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company based in Indiana, issued initial payments for repairs following an inspection that found significant damage.
Mitchell began contacting Brotherhood Mutual posing as a public adjuster representing the church through various corporate entities including International Consulting Group; Texas Wind Consultants, LLC; and Loss Consultants of Texas, LLC operating as Texas Claim Consultants. He submitted multiple repair estimates—some exceeding $7 million—and coordinated issuance of large checks jointly payable to himself or his companies and the church.
On several occasions between July 2019 and January 2021, insurance checks totaling millions were mailed either directly to Mitchell or made out jointly with his business entities under instructions he provided. Some endorsements on behalf of the church were forged without authorization.
Despite invoices submitted by Blue Key Construction—a company Mitchell claimed was contracted for repairs—representatives later denied any involvement or knowledge of certain contracts allegedly signed by the church’s pastor or board members. At least one contract valued at over $18 million was found fraudulent.
Investigators determined that much of the work listed on invoices was not performed and some documents presented by Mitchell—including certifications of completion—were fabricated or unauthorized.
In total, Brotherhood Mutual paid out over $6.8 million intended solely for repairing Friendship Missionary Baptist Church’s hurricane damages; however, less than one-third reached the church itself according to court findings.
The case was investigated by the Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Fire Safety and prosecuted by Criminal Chief Leah McEwen.
