A former minister will serve up to 4 ½ years in prison as his penance for cheating the state out of more than $5 million, a Manhattan judge ordered yesterday.
State Supreme Court Justice Bonnie Wittner sentenced Clayton Harris – head of the fictitious “Clayton Harris Ministries” – to 1 ½ to 4 ½ years in prison for tax fraud and grand larceny.
Harris, 43, claimed his make-believe ministry, which had phony offices on Central Park West, Fifth Avenue and in the South Bronx, had brought in $250 million in the year 2000, entitling him to a $17 million tax return.
Prosecutors said Harris had tried pulling a similar stunt before, and was almost successful this time, when the state gave him a $5.4 million direct deposit into his bank account.
Instead of taking the money and running, however, the former Brooklyn was still in town waiting for his $12 million refund check when investigators discovered the scam.
Harris pleaded guilty to the charges last month.