Robbinsdale Pastor, Activist Charged with Wage Theft
Bishop Harding Smith, a prominent community activist and religious figure in the northwest suburbs, is facing criminal charges for allegedly underpaying his employees.
He was charged this week with wage theft and theft by swindle.
Smith, who is pastor at Robbinsdale’s Spiritual Church of God, founded the violence intervention nonprofit Minnesota Acts Now.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says he withheld about $150,000 worth of payroll expenses owed to employees.
“Bishop Harding Smith failed to pay his employees what he agreed to as part of the contract with Hennepin County and then lied about it when seeking payroll expense reimbursements,” Moriarty said. “As I said when our office secured the state’s first wage theft conviction, this behavior will not be tolerated.”
In a text message, Jordan Kushner, the attorney representing Smith, called the accusations “baseless.”
Minnesota Acts Now had contracts with both Brooklyn Park and Hennepin County.
The nonprofit’s orange-shirted crew patrolled some of Brooklyn Park’s highest crime areas in the violent summer of 2021. The firm signed contracts amidst a number of high-profile shootings. A 16-year-old was fatally shot at a strip mall on Brookdale Drive in the summer of 2021. Likewise, gunfire often erupted at the intersection of 63rd and Zane and Huntington Place Apartments.
“People kill people over the littlest of things these days,” Smith later told the Brooklyn Park City Council. “We are there, whenever we see something, we report to the police in real time.”
Harding Smith, a prominent community activist and religious figure in the northwest suburbs, is facing criminal charges for allegedly underpaying his employees.
Accusations
However, along with a rising profile came accusations of misconduct from employees.
“I trusted in the organization of Minnesota Acts Now during that time. Myself, coworkers, and our families were always under stress, not being paid the correct amount,” an employee told the Brooklyn Park City Council in 2023.
Investigations followed the claims.
According to Moriarty’s office, Minnesota Acts Now reported payroll expenses of $495,547 to the county for its August to December 2021 contract. However, prosecutors allege the nonprofit actually incurred expenses of $346,209.
Smith then used the savings to purchase a building in Brooklyn Park.
When investigators interviewed Smith in February, he “denied fraudulent intent and pointed out that he had not used funds from [Minnesota Acts Now’s] accounts for his personal benefit,” the criminal complaint read.
Smith’s first appearance in court is scheduled for June 16.
