According to the church’s website, Dr. C. Jay Matthews was named pastor of the church in January 1988.

CLEVELAND - The senior pastor of Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Cleveland is facing federal charges for allegedly not paying more than $90,000 in income taxes.

The Rev. Charles J. Matthews, of Solon, according to the information filed in court Tuesday was in charge of two financial accounts at the church – one for the church itself and one for his own use, dubbed a pastor’s account.

The information alleged that, while Mt. Sinai deducted and collected the required income tax and FICA withholdings from the total taxable wages of its employees, Matthews “willfully failed to report and pay over to the Internal Revenue Service those withheld taxes.”

Prosecutors alleged Matthews, instead, caused those funds to be used for other purposes including transfers into the pastor’s account for his own personal use.

According to the information, Matthews also failed to report and pay the employer’s share of FICA taxes.

The total amount prosecutors said Matthews failed to pay between October 2005 and January 2007 is $90,767.43. Matthews is facing six counts in the information. It’s not clear yet if a court date has been set.

According to the church’s website, Dr. C. Jay Matthews was named pastor of the church in January 1988. Before accepting his current position, he was the chaplain at the Cuyahoga County Youth Development Center as well as the youth pastor and assistant pastor of Mount Sinai Baptist Church.

Under his leadership Mount Sinai has grown to become a non-traditional church with more than 4,000 members at one time. Matthews is a civil rights activist and is one of the leading children, juvenile, and family advocates in our community. He serves as a member of The Greater Cleveland Partnership, President of the United Pastors In Mission, on the board of United Way Services,’ the Adoption Task Force, and is chairman of One Church One Child.

He is chairman of the local NAACP’s Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.

He is a member of the Governors, Juvenile Justice System and is the chairman of the Technical Assistance Committee for the Housing Commission of the National Baptist Convention U. S. A., Inc.