Each January MinistryWatch publishes a list of highly compensated religious non-profit executives. The compensation for 100 employees on the 2023 list ranges from $370,890 to $7,319,371 (David Cerullo of INSP !!).

Seven million plus dollars!!!

America needs to have a serious conversation about excessive compensation in the non-profit world. Many of the highest paid televangelists fail to make the MinistryWatch list because their compensation is secret.

The compensation data is compiled from Form 990s submitted to the IRS. Churches, synagogues and mosques are exempt from filing a Form 990.

In December, ProPublica reported the IRS had a backlog of half a million 990s to release.

Because of the IRS backlog, MinistryWatch’s list features 15 people with 2019 compensation information.

The IRS backlog also affects Trinity Foundation’s investigations adversely. Some of our investigative reports are delayed by lack of current financial data.

The MinistryWatch list provides compelling examples of nepotism in Christian ministry. The Inspirational Network and Glory of Zion International both include three family members working as highly paid executives.

In addition to compensation of executives, the Form 990 also provides a statement of expenses, which helps conscientious donors evaluate the effectiveness of the charities they support.

One of the key metrics for concerned donors is program services. This is the money spent on the mission of the non-profit organization. Program services is determined by subtracting management and fundraising expenses from total expenses.

When retired Catholic priest Louis Robert Gigante died in October at 90 years of age, the news of his death was missed by most of America’s religion reporters, yet there are important lessons to learn from examining Gigante’s life story.

Gigante served at St. Athanasius Church in New York City, launched the  South East Bronx Community Organization (SEBCO), a large developer of  affordable housing, and was famous for being the brother of mafia boss Vincent Gigante, who headed the Genovese Crime Family for more than 20 years.

By serving as a secular, non-order priest, Gigante avoided taking a vow of poverty. Gigante preached the weddings and funerals of mafia associates and spoke in favor of lenient sentences after mafia members were convicted of crimes.

In 1989, The Village Voice newspaper published an incredible expose of Gigante’s business practices: “A four-month Voice investigation of Gigante and SEBCO has revealed that the priest and his publicly financed developments have been a $50 million opportunity for the Mafia.”

In addition to operating the non-profit SEBCO, Gigante owned the for-profit SEBCO Management company which did business with the non-profit. This kind of business relationship is described as self-dealing and is illegal when a non-profit executive excessively profits off the non-profit organization.

Self-dealing creates conflicts of interest and opportunities for financial abuse. The Village Voice reported, “It should come as no surprise that the priest’s company has gotten every SEBCO contract.”

Continue reading “America’s Mafia Priest Dies”

Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church appears to have violated the Johnson Amendment with an Instagram post on November 28, 2022:

The Johnson Amendment, adopted in 1954,  made it illegal for non-profit organizations to endorse or oppose political candidates.

Following the fall 2022 elections, Trinity Foundation, which is a non-partisan watchdog organization, reported both Jamal Bryant and televangelist Kenneth Copeland to the Internal Revenue Service for violating the Johnson Amendment.

Copeland flew his church-owned jet to West Palm Beach, Florida, to join Donald Trump’s entourage for a political campaign event.

Bryant and his church supported Democrat candidate Raphael Warnock. Meanwhile, Copeland supported Republican candidate Mehmet Oz.

Today is National Giving Day and many Americans are supporting their favorite non-profit organizations. If you would like to donate to Trinity Foundation, please visit our donation page.

To the informants, readers, donors, journalists, and podcasters that interact with Trinity Foundation, we would like to say thank you for your support.

Your tips have aided our investigations, your interviews have educated the public regarding religious fraud and your donations have financed our work.

Again, thank you.

Year in Review

After Trinity Foundation founder Ole Anthony died in 2021, several documentary filmmakers contacted Trinity Foundation regarding the possibility of making a documentary about Ole’s life and our investigations. The project is currently on hold.

In March, Discovery+, the online platform of the Discovery Network, premiered the documentary Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed. The third episode featured Trinity Foundation staff investigator Barry Bowen discussing Hillsong’s use of limited liability companies and accumulation of property in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Following the online premier, Trinity Foundation published the article The Dangerous Legal Structures of Hillsong Church. The documentary and our original reporting led to an ABC (Australia) interview and appearances on several podcasts including Leaving Hillsong.

Continue reading “Year in Review: Where Your Donations Go”

Note: This is the second article in a series examining financial records and receipts for pastors and religious organizations. Future articles will explore travel expenses, per diem expenses and fundraising.

In 2019 an audit of Fellowship Church, one of America’s largest multi-site megachurches pastored by Ed Young Jr., uncovered financial crimes. Two years later, church financial administrator Lara Ford pled guilty to embezzling more than $1 million.

Ford used Automated Clearing House to transfer at least $363,834 from the church’s Allaso Ranch account and $324,313 from another church account to her personal bank accounts. The thefts were disguised as payments to vendors and refunds for children unable to attend the church camp.

Ford’s crimes are described as fraudulent disbursements.

These crimes are easy to disguise. By creating fake invoices, a dishonest church administrator can manufacture a paper trail to cover his or her theft of church funds.

How common are these crimes?

Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations, a report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners based on an examination of more than 2,000 cases of financial fraud in 133 nations, estimated on average “organizations lose 5% of revenue to fraud each year.”

The report noted, “Financial statement fraud schemes are the least common but most costly.”

Examples of financial statement fraud schemes include billing shell companies for fictitious expenses, falsifying wages and submitting duplicate receipts for the same expense.

The Small Church Pastor Submitting Duplicate Receipts

Pastor Don Galardi lived in a modest home and drove an old truck. The outside world and church congregation would not expect the pastor of engaging in improper financial activities.

Continue reading “Hiding Crimes with Invoices and Receipts: Deceptively Paid with Reimbursements”

(Pastor Kenneth Copeland praying at Trump Rally for Dr. Oz.)

This weekend Pastor Planes, the Trinity Foundation jet tracking project, observed a couple of interesting televangelist flights. During our investigations we look for flights with little to no ministry purpose.

On Saturday, November 5th, Kenneth Copeland flew from Fort Worth Alliance Airport to Palm Beach International Airport aboard his church’s Gulfstream G5 jet.

(Photo: ADSB Exchange tracking map of Copeland’s Gulfstream G5 identified with tail number N1967J.)

Then Copeland and Paula White-Cain flew to Arnold Palmer Regional Airport outside Pittsburgh for a Donald Trump political rally where Copeland prayed.  From all appearances, the televangelists flew aboard Donald Trump’s Boeing 757 jet to the rally on Saturday.

During the Sunday morning service, Paula told her congregation about the flight which included many important people.

(Photo: ADSB Exchange tracking map of Trump’s jet with tail number N757AF.)

Trump promoted Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz during the rally. After Trump’s jet returned to Palm Beach International Airport, Copeland flew back to Fort Worth.

Should pastors participate in campaign rallies where politicians are endorsed?

According to Trinity Foundation President Pete Evans, enforcement of the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits non-profit organizations from endorsing or opposing candidates, has been virtually ignored by the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS with regard to religious organizations.  Evans says, “No matter what your political bent, Kenneth Copeland and Paula White-Cain are thumbing their noses at this law and the IRS.”

Such political events raise important questions: Did Copeland’s church jet flight to Florida have a ministry purpose? If not, did Copeland reimburse the church for travel expenses? Should the jet’s tax exempt status be revoked.

The Eagle Mountain International Church (which also operates with the trade name Kenneth Copeland Ministries) purchased the Gulfstream G5 jet from actor Tyler Perry in 2017. The church previously purchased a Citation X (Cessna 750) jet in 2005. Currently the two jets are based at Fort Worth Alliance Airport rather than Kenneth Copeland Airport.

In a 2007 filing with the Tarrant County Appraisal District, Copeland’s church listed the Cessna Citation X as “reasonably necessary for worship.”