Trinity Foundation

Jason Stockstill on left, Larry Stockstill on right

Pastors, televangelists, and other religious leaders are held in a position of trust.  In general, they are more trusted by the churchgoing, Bible-believing public because they are assumed to be living clean, godly lives.  They are assumed to have integrity.

When one of these leaders recommends an investment to a member or members of their congregation who have money to invest, it should be a no-brainer to fund, finance or otherwise support whatever “great investment opportunity” they recommend.

But not so fast. We’ve been told by financial regulators that there is more money stolen in the name of God than any other way!  Check out this pastor’s fraudulent crypto-currency scheme for example.

“Godly” leaders themselves are also vulnerable to investment scams. It’s common for religious leaders to be recruited by unscrupulous con-artists by appealing to the leader’s underlying human greed. Moreover, pastors are frequently bad at discerning people’s character.

Televangelist Benny Hinn was never charged or convicted of any crime, but in the early 2000s, Hinn had a hand in helping gain investors for two different ‘Ponzi Scheme’ criminals, Gregory Setser and Joseph Medawar, who stole millions from unsuspecting investors and were convicted.  Our article How Criminals Target Wealthy Believers gives more details. This type of situation is known as “religious affinity fraud”.

The following is an ongoing story about religious affinity investments that have gone awry.

Larry Stockstill, Jason Stockstill, & Tangible Trading Company—an Investor’s Nightmare

 Ken Addington invested $175,000

 Jason Stockstill approached Ken Addington in the fall of 2021 to invest in his export company and to join the board of directors.  He called it Tangible Trading Co. and incorporated it in Delaware.

When Addington found out Jason’s father, retired Louisiana megachurch Pastor Larry Stockstill was the Chairman of the Board of ‘Tangible’ he “felt it was an honor for me to serve with these men.  I felt that Larry was a pastor’s pastor, a man of integrity and held him in the highest regard.”

Continue reading “What Can Go Wrong Investing in a Pastor’s Family Enterprise? A Stockstill Business Affair”

(Screenshot: Taylor associate, so-called “Prophetess” Kathleen Woods, preaching a sermon on September 21, 2025.)

Following the arrest of televangelist David E. Taylor and ministry executive Michelle Brannon for forced labor and money laundering, members of Taylor’s Kingdom of God Global Church (KGGC) have rallied to Taylor’s defense.

Recently, an informant contacted Trinity Foundation, revealing that members of Taylor’s church have continued their fundraising efforts by texting and calling previous church donors.

On September 16, 2025, the informant received a text message from Pastor Adam soliciting donations. The following day Pastor Kia called the informant to request a donation.

Fox 13 in Tampa has also reported on the recent solicitation phone calls. A journalist listened to a voice mail in which the caller claimed to have a message from David E. Taylor: “He really wanted us to really encourage you, as well as to pray with you.”

According to the federal indictment, Taylor operated call centers in four states (Florida, Michigan, Missouri, and Texas) with unpaid call center workers.

The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) reports that one of the common characteristics of cults is, “The group is preoccupied with making money.”

Continue reading “Following Televangelist David E. Taylor’s Arrest, Cultic Church Continues Telemarketing for Donations, Holds Services”

(Trinity Foundation President Pete Evans reviewing documents obtained from dumpster diving in 1996.)

Inspired by the FBI’s Vault, a collection of more than 6,000 government documents, Trinity Foundation has created the File Vault, a document library, to expose the techniques that televangelists use to defraud their donors, to avoid financial transparency, and to avoid legal accountability.

We want donors to see with their own eyes how the scams work by publishing documents of historical importance. In 1987, televangelist Oral Roberts claimed that God commanded him to raise $8 million or God would take his life. Before making the announcement on television, Roberts sent a fundraising solicitation letter to his large mailing list.

Mailing lists are one of the biggest fundraising tools of religious broadcasters. Five of Oral Roberts’ 1987 fundraising letters are published in the File Vault including the letter in which Roberts announced the $8 million threat from God, and the countdowns to his death IF sufficient funds weren’t raised.

Continue reading “File Vault Exposes Tricks of Televangelists and Some Megachurches”

David E Taylor, a self-proclaimed prophet and faith healer on the WORD Network has FINALLY been arrested for an elaborate human trafficking and money laundering scheme.  Why say “FINALLY”?  Taylor’s abusive and deceptive tactics can be traced back at least two decades.

Beginning seven years ago Trinity Foundation sent reports about David E Taylor to the IRS Exempt Organization Division. Our first report was delivered in 2018 when we recommended Taylor’s organizations lose their tax exempt status and again in 2019 in a report titled “Recommendation to File Criminal Charges Against David E. Taylor and Revoke the Tax-Exempt Status of 3 Organizations:  Joshua Media Ministries Inc. (JMMI), Kingdom of God Global Church, & Kingdom Family Church)”.

A ten-count indictment was filed July 23^rd, 2025 in a Michigan U.S. District Court charging Taylor and his Executive Director Michelle Brannon, Taylor’s enforcer, with “Conspiracy to Commit Forced Labor” and “Money Laundering Conspiracy”.

This was a coordinated investigation by the FBI and the Criminal Investigative Division of the IRS which included raids in Detroit, Houston, and Tampa as well as coordinated efforts in St. Louis and Charlotte.  SWAT teams were dispatched to the church’s 28,000 square foot parsonage (includes guest house) in Tampa and to Taylor’s “JMMI” headquarters in Houston which formerly was a 67-room hotel.

Fox news Houston’s report mentioned some people were taken out in handcuffs and others simply walked out.  Detroit’s local TV news 4 report mentioned the disturbing allegations in the indictment.

The deeply disturbing allegations in the indictment include severe punishment exacted by Taylor and Brannon when unpaid call center workers did not meet their quota of donation money raised, such as withholding meals, forced fasting, forced diets of peanut butter and jelly, forced labor until 4 am, mandated sleeping in a garage, begging for forgiveness on one’s knees, and physical abuse, etc.

Eight victims were listed as witnesses in the indictment, with names redacted and Trinity Foundation believes more will come forward following these arrests.

The U.S. Department of Justice summarized the indictment in a press release earlier this morning:  “Two Self-Professed Religious Leaders Who Used Physical and Psychological Abuse to Coerce Victims to Solicit Tens of Millions in Donations Federally Charged and Arrested”

Our 2019 report stated, “Taylor’s money-raising tactics cross state lines and go all over the US via his internet website, mass emails, the US postal service, and television.”

Trinity Foundation is preparing to launch a document library later this week and we’re calling it the “Vault”, featuring our investigative reports, church and ministry governance documents, financial reports, fraudulent fund-raising letters / mail marketing, and much more.  We want people to see with their own eyes the methods corrupt religious leaders employ.

(Photo: Pixabay/Squarefrog)

On May 10th, Gateway Church in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, obtained a protective order to keep certain information secret by invoking the Defend Trade Secrets Act.

Gateway Church is facing a class action suit filed by former donors seeking a return of their donations based on allegations the church leadership lied about how much money it was giving to missions.

According to the Gateway Church protective order, “‘Confidential Information’ shall include, but shall not be limited to, information that concerns or relates to (1) sales, marketing, manufacturing, or research and development; (2) financial performance; (3) manufacturing or other costs of doing business; (4) licenses or other confidential agreements; (5) technical details of products or methods of doing business and/or marketing; and/or (6) personally identifiable information.”

Pete Evans, President of Trinity, says, “It’s pure insanity! Previous court cases have invalidated church trade secrets.”

In 1986, while deciding a case involving the Church of Scientology, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that religious teachings weren’t subject to laws protecting trade secrets, citing California trade secrets legislation.

In the ruling, Judge Harry Pregerson explained, “We hold that the California courts would conclude that sacred Scriptures do not meet the definition of a trade secret under California law.”

Source: Los Angeles Times

Continue reading “Gateway Church Invokes the Defend Trade Secrets Act to Hide Information from Public”