In a 2007 interview with ABC News, when asked how much he was worth, Taylor ventured what he said was a guess.
“Ballpark? Maybe $20 million on a bad day,” he said.
His personal history, coupled with what he claimed was a philosophy of “socially conscious investing,” made him popular with church congregations.
“He quoted scriptures,” said Lillian Wells, who met privately with Taylor in 2009 after hearing him speak at New Birth.
Wells said Taylor convinced her to invest her entire life savings in a North Carolina-based real estate venture, which he claimed was turning around homes in inner cities. In exchange, she was promised a 20 percent return on her money.
But, Wells said, when she wanted to recoup her initial investment, Taylor disappeared.
“I couldn’t get a hold of anybody,” Wells said. “You just can’t get them. That’s it. You just couldn’t get anybody.”