Investigation: Billionaire Televangelist’s Beach Condo for Sale, Wealthy Foreign Pastors Acquire American Real Estate

(Screenshot: Bishop Edir Macedo preaching from Portugal.)

The world’s wealthiest televangelist, billionaire Edir Macedo of Brazil, has listed his beach condo in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, for sale. After a recent price reduction, Macedo is asking almost $14.6 million for the luxurious residence in the Porsche Design Tower.

Macedo’s neighbors have included Russian oligarchs, soccer player Lionel Messi, Columbian singer Maluma, Mexican actress/singer Thalía and Andrea Romanello Ferdinand, the daughter of Patrick Romanello, whom The New York Times reported was “alleged to be an associate of the Bonanno crime family.”

(Photo: Carl LenderCreative Commons License)

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Exploring Daystar Programming Partners: Guess Who Owns Six Square Miles of Land?

In addition to producing its own original programs such as Joni Table Talk and Ministry Now and broadcasting Christian movies on Saturdays, Daystar Television Network relies on 69 programming partners to fill its weekly broadcast schedule.

We were curious: How many of Daystar’s programming partners provide financial information to donors?

The following spreadsheet reveals which programming partners file an IRS Form 990 which discloses total revenue, total expenses, and compensation of officers. Unlike other non-profits, churches, synagogues and mosques are exempt from the requirement to file a Form 990.

One-third (23) of Daystar’s programming partners provide a Form 990, which was more than we expected.

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Televangelists and Pastor Entrepreneurs, Are You in Compliance? March 21st Deadline to Report Company Ownership to Feds

(Photo: Pixabay)

Update: After publication of this article, the Treasury Department announced it will only require foreign companies to disclose ownership in America and that owners of American companies will not be prosecuted for non-disclosure of beneficial ownership information.

After facing court challenges the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, has gone into effect, requiring many owners of corporations, limited liability companies and sole proprietors to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the federal government.

But loopholes in the act have inadvertently made churches the ideal venue for international money laundering.

In prior years, law enforcement would complain about the difficulty of identifying the owners of companies because their names didn’t appear on corporate records.

For some companies, the only contact is a registered agent who doesn’t personally know their client. On other occasions the names of managers of limited liability companies (LLCs) and dummy directors of corporations appear on company registration documents rather than the owner.

This lack of corporate transparency protects terrorists, international money laundering, tax evasion, and drug smuggling.

Lack of Beneficial Ownership Hides Aircraft

When reporters Mark Smith and Tanya Eiserer of Dallas-based ABC affiliate WFAA discovered in 2019 that more than 1,000 aircraft were registered to two P.O. boxes in the small Texas town of Onalaska – which has no airport – they began to ask questions. It was, after all, more aircraft than are registered in either Seattle, San Antonio or New York City.

WFAA reported, “In 2008, a plane crashed into a home in Caracas, Venezuela, killing seven people. The pilot was a twice-convicted drug smuggler. The plane was registered in the United States to Aircraft Guaranty Corp. The company never identified the real owner.”

“There’s more: In 2013, a helicopter also registered to Aircraft Guaranty crashed into a golf course in Mexico.  ‘I was never able to find out the actual person who was responsible for that helicopter accident,’ said attorney Ladd Sanger, who represented the families of three of the five people killed in the crash.”

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In the News…

The Religion Business update: In November we reported on filmmaker Nathan Apffel’s arrest at televangelist Ed Young Jr.’s Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, for trespassing. Apffel was standing on church property with a poster asking the question, “Ed, what’s your housing allowance today?” On February 25th, Apffel pled guilty and received a 90-day probation. The charge will be expunged from his record if Apffel doesn’t visit the church during the probation period.

Apffel’s seven-part documentary The Religion Business is expected to premiere online at Easter or soon after.

2025 NRB Convention: Televangelists, religious broadcasters and Christian journalists gathered at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention held in Grapevine, Texas during the last days of February.

NRB would have been the ideal institution to call for massive reform in religious broadcasting but instead it has given a platform for corrupt religious leaders.

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Perry Stone Claims to Receive no Book Royalties, Shares Limited Ministry Financial Information in YouTube Video

 

To address misinformation allegedly spreading on social media, televangelist Perry Stone created a YouTube video claiming he receives no book royalties for books produced and sold through his ministry and disclosed some of his ministries’ expenses.

“There are millions of people who assume that somehow Perry Stone gets a commission, or he gets a payment, or he gets a royalty from those sales. That is absolutely, totally 100% incorrect … if it takes me six months or a year to write a book and I spend hours, hour after hour after hour and we offer it and print it through the ministry, I get absolutely zero, nothing from those sales.”

While Stone may not receive book royalties, as part of a compensation package, he could be paid a flat rate to write books for his ministry.

Stone’s ministry has operated in a financially secretive manner for more than a decade. Because Stone does not reveal his salary, donors are unable to know if the ministry is providing excessive compensation, which is defined by the IRS as exceeding a million dollars annually.

The non-profit organization Voice of Evangelism Outreach Ministries, also known as Perry Stone Ministries, is based in Cleveland, Tennessee, where the Church of God has its headquarters and operates Lee University.

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How Did Televangelist Joni Lamb Acquire $11 Million of Residential Property?

Over time, televangelist Joni Lamb acquired six residential properties worth $11 million, according to research by Trinity Foundation.

Joni Lamb owns four houses in Texas, a home in Georgia and beach condo in Miramar Beach, Florida. This week, Trinity Foundation discovered that Joni still owned the Grapevine, Texas, home she purchased in 1991 along with her husband, Marcus, who died in 2021. Ownership of the property was hidden by the county.

The six properties are worth an estimated $11 million, based off recent sales amounts and estimates on real estate websites.

How Much is Joni Worth?

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Financial Secrets: In 2006, Three Televangelists Created Offshore Companies in the Bahamas

(Photos: Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Bill Winston)

In 2006, three American televangelists registered four offshore companies in the Bahamas with Trident Corporate Services. Three of the four corporate filings occurred precisely a week apart. The purposes for the four corporate entities are unknown.

While offshore companies may have a legitimate purpose, they are frequently used for tax evasion and to hide assets when, for instance, a rich husband expects a possible divorce.

Offshore corporate registrations are a critical component of international money laundering.

In December 2024, the IRS launched an investigation into Trident Corporate Services’ parent company Trident Global Trust. The purpose of the IRS investigation is to identify Americans who failed to report income generated in offshore locations during the years 2014 through 2023.

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Religious Court Cases to Watch in 2025

What is Christian journalism lacking? Court reporters! Some of the biggest crimes in the religious world are NOT properly reported because no journalist obtained depositions/court transcripts and then the case gets closed.

Philanthropists can close this void by partnering with media to fund court reporters.

Bloggers, YouTubers, and social media commentators may also fill this gap by researching court documents, attending court hearings, and interviewing attorneys to find out how laws are applied. Religion reporters may enhance their investigative skills by covering court cases.

The following cases, while not an exhaustive list, may be viewed as opportunities to examine allegations of corruption in the church world and to learn about America’s court system.

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Worship Leader Acquires Nine Homes and Two Parsonages

(Photo: Worship leader Sean Feucht singing the song “There is a Name” in 2018.)

In 2022, Rolling Stone published a critical article about Sean Feucht, the conservative worship leader from Redding, California, who attracted large crowds by opposing Covid-19 lockdowns.

Rolling Stone reported, “He’s also pulling in millions for his ministry — and recently bought houses in Southern California and Montana.”

Feucht is part of a growing trend of religious leaders engaging in long distance ministry, spending much of his time far from his ministry headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Sean Feucht Ministries has acquired two parsonages, one in Washington, D.C. worth almost $900,000 and the other in San Juan Capistrano, California, purchased in 2024 for $3,450,000.

Trinity Foundation has also identified nine homes personally owned by Feucht, registered in his real name, John Christopher Feucht: One in California, one in Montana and seven in Pennsylvania.

The Redfin real estate website reports that two weeks ago, Feucht sold his Coto de Caza, California, home for $1.7 million.

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Boston Rescue Mission to Set Good Example by Filing Amended Return

 

Update: After receiving a response from Boston Rescue Mission on April, 16th, we changed the article headline from “Reporting Fraud or Accountant Incompetence? Boston Rescue Mission’s Numbers Don’t Add Up!” to “Boston Rescue Mission to Set Good Example by Filing Amended Return.”

We are more than satisfied with the ministry’s response and have updated the article to include new information and Boston Rescue Mission’s answers to our questions, which appear at the end of the article and we commend their intention to file an amended return as well.

Boston Rescue Mission also provided an explanation for the increase in compensation for the ministry’s president, age 68, who is retiring soon:

“The reported increase was primarily due to a one-time vacation and retirement payout totaling approximately $1.23 million, which had been accrued over many years of service. BRM does not impose a cap on accrued vacation time. As Mr. Samaan is approaching retirement, he elected to receive the accumulated balance in accordance with the organization’s policies and with full knowledge and approval from the Board of Directors.

It is important to understand that this payout does not reflect a sudden or unexplained increase in base salary or ongoing compensation, but rather the fulfillment of a long-standing obligation recorded in accordance with GAAP.”

“Our auditors made us aware of an IRS ruling that required Mr. Samaan to take the full payout of the accrued amount at that time.  The amount was significant because it was an accumulation over 32 years of service at that point.”

Correcting an Error

“Upon review, we acknowledge that President Samaan’s compensation should have been reported on Line 5 (compensation of current officers, directors, trustees, and key employees) of the Statement of Functional Expenses, rather than Line 7 (other salaries and wages). This was an inadvertent classification error, and we are in the process of preparing an amended Form 990 to correct this line placement.

It is important to note that the amount shown in the amended filing will reflect the fiscal year compensation actually expensed, which is closer to $200,000, and not the $1.4 million figure reported on Part VII.”


Boston Rescue Mission appears to have filed a fraudulent Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, or the ministry has an incompetent accountant. The numbers don’t add up. The compensation for the ministry’s two highest paid employees is more than the total compensation the ministry reported to the IRS.

During the first week of January, Ministry Watch published its annual 100 Highly Paid Ministry Leaders list.

As usual, the two highest paid non-profit executives were David Cerullo ($5,425,948) and Dale Ardizzone ($2,362,151) of The Inspirational Network, but number three was a surprise.

John Samaan, president and CEO of the Boston Rescue Mission, received $1,504,419 in compensation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.

During that year, Boston Rescue Mission, which provides aid to the homeless, generated $5,703,650 in total revenue. Therefore, 26 percent of total revenue was paid to Samaan.

Boston Rescue Mission reported 41 employees for the year, therefore, the CEO gets paid a significantly higher amount than the average employee.

The compensation for Samaan and ministry vice president Michael Way was reported on a Form 990, an information return that non-profits file with the IRS.

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