Federal prosecutors are searching for a Georgia man who defrauded donors of over $30 million for a planned Christian ministry in China and spent the money on jewelry, international real estate and sports gambling.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia on Tuesday said international fugitive Jason Gerald Shenk, 45, a former resident of Dublin, Georgia, is charged with multiple wire fraud and money laundering charges for redirecting the multimillions in donations for personal uses.

Mr. Shenk is accused of soliciting millions of dollars of donations, largely from religious communities in Ohio and North Carolina, in order to produce and distribute Bibles and Christian literature in China.

The attorney’s office said Mr. Shenk claimed to be a missionary dedicated to Christian projects around the world, but he was funneling the money into shell corporations for personal use the entire time.

Prosecutors said Mr. Shenk spent $7 million on running his family’s farm, $4 million to buy multiple life insurance policies in other peoples’ names, purchased real estate in Santiago, Chile, and paid at least $1 million each on sports gambling, diamonds and gold.

“When people of faith donate money for evangelistic purposes, they reasonably expect those who solicit their donations to act as faithful stewards of those funds,” U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg said in a release. “This case alleges an egregious breach of that trust at the expense of multiple charities and individual donors.”

Mr. Shenk is accused of carrying out his scheme from as early as April 2010 to July 2019.

Prosecutors said he renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2016 to avoid federal financial reporting requirements.

The fugitive faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of his charges.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.