CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Bishop Eddie Long faces new legal trouble after a bank says he and two business partners defaulted on a $2 million loan.
The group formed the West Indies Holding Company and purchased the Hoops and Fitness gym on Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro in August 2007.
Long signed the promissory note to make the purchase and the bank loan, along with his two business partners, Marrion Heflin and Frederick Folson.
The buildings are currently occupied by three businesses, Omni Hoops and Fitness, an auto repair shop, and a contractor. All three rent through a real estate company.
None of the business owners wanted to comment on camera, but told Channel 2 investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer they have been assured they will be able to continue operating at that location.
Long’s attorney, Reginald Winfrey, issued a written statement saying, “The lawsuit filed yesterday is a personal matter that is unrelated to the church. It is being handled in the legal system.”
This is the fifth lawsuit in the past three weeks filed against Bishop Eddie Long.
Four young men have filed lawsuits alleging Long made improper sexual advances and misused his relationship as their spiritual father.
In those cases, Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church is named as a co-defendant. The church is not involved in the property dispute.
The previous owner of the property, J.D. Rock Enterprises, is also suing Long and his partners for roughly $700,000. That case has been pending since 2008.
Channel 2 Action News tried unsuccessfully to reach each of the parties involved in the bank loan. An assistant for the bank’s attorney also declined comment, saying he would not answer any questions about this case, or how Long became tied to that business deal.
