Our website now has a link to the easy to operate 990 finder here…

https://trinityfi.org/non-profit-lookup/

Donors would like to believe their money is going to organizations that take the least amount of money out for administrative purposes and utilize the majority of it to directly meet real charitable needs.  How can we know?

The IRS form 990 is a good start.  Among its good points:  donors can know the salaries of all of the board members and the highest paid individuals in the organization, how much the highest paid independent contractors are making, what countries grant money may be going to, whether or not the organization is funded by public donations or just a few wealthy individuals, how much they are spending on travel, how much on housing, etc., the detail list is long.

Every non-profit in the country except churches and church related organizations have to file the 990.  Traditionally, mainline denominations have maintained reasonable oversight over their member churches for the most part, but as religious non-profit organizations run by a single person or family at the top have multiplied, there is little to no accountability and zero transparency.

Where opacity exists, the temptation also exists to bend and break IRS guidelines.  Independent mega-churches and ministries calling themselves churches in this single person/family category have spread around the globe and as they proliferate, the large mansions, private jets, luxury cars, and opulent lifestyles have mushroomed.

Opacity comes in many different forms:  shell corporations, gated communities, requiring staff to sign non-disclosure agreements, for-profits feeding off of non-profit orgs owned by the same ones running the non-profit, and the most ironic—church status.

Not having to file a form 990 or reveal any other financial information of any significance (except salaries to the IRS privately) is a huge opportunity for profiteering, luxurious living using the organization as one’s own piggy bank, and even money laundering.

We could provide hundreds of examples but one will suffice to illustrate the piggy bank scenario.  When she was alive, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) vice-president Jan Crouch resided a long while at #1 Yorkshire, Newport Beach, CA, an opulent mansion purchased for $5.6M by the Trinity Christian Center of San Marcos  (TCCSM), listed as the TBN corporation’s church— but in reality, another shell company operated by TBN’s founding family (we tried for years to find an actual church with that name but never could).

Churches have the privilege of providing tax-free housing for their pastors, who traditionally have received more meager incomes than most and could use the extra boost, but it’s unknown whether the palatial mansion was used as Jan’s “parsonage” (tax-free housing) and no public financial information is available, because the actual owner, TCCSM is a church.

Believers might do well to remember what Jesus said about transparency, “For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be made known and brought to light.”[1]

Forbes Magazine’s Peter Reilly recently reported on a petition and a book by Reverend Frank B Jones the pastor of Pentecostal Temple in Compton, CA calling for churches to start filing the IRS form 990, which exposes salaries and where the money goes in general. The book, Stop the Prosperity Preachers, takes aim at the lack of financial transparency by churches.

Filing the 990 can be a difficult task that can take weeks to complete but it’s a step toward transparency that we encourage larger churches and ministries to take.

[1] NET version, Luke 8:17

How would you like to own a slice of air and suddenly it’s worth tens of millions?

The cost for Americans’ insatiable demand for instant internet use just went up a few notches, or maybe more than just a few… The various “airwaves” licensed to television broadcasters and purchased for millions decades ago are now worth billions.

In recent years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recognized a need by AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and other large cell phone or internet service providers to gain larger slivers of a rapidly disappearing spectrum “pie” for portable and non-portable cellular device usage. Consequently, the FCC has organized and conducted a number of heavy-duty auctions enticing TV station owners to sell portions of spectrum they own and use for broadcasting.

The US public was largely uninformed and, for the most part, left out of this process; a process which, no doubt will show up as an increase in our phone and internet bills soon enough. “Christian” television providers—think private jets, multiple large mansions with Italian marble floors, five-star European hotels and restaurants, expensive rare wines, yachts, etc.—have profited hugely to the tune of $1.2 BILLION.

The ubiquitous Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) has profited far above a slew of others, such as as Lesea, Morning-Star, Maranatha, Good life, Daystar, etc. TBN and its affiliates have taken in a whopping $634.3 million dollars so far from its own sale of television broadcast spectrum.

In the process, they’ve actually lost few if any of their TV stations in audience markets around the country due to the large increase in the number of digital slots made available with the switch from analog to digital, high-definition television. Viewers will simply change channels.

Now, what are they going to do with the money? Will any of it go to real charity—such as homelessness, hunger, and medical needs?

Here’s a list our volunteer investigator Barry Bowen compiled from the FCC:

WCLJ-TV – Indianapolis, IN – Trinity Broadcasting of Indiana, Inc. — $18,759,808 (TBN)

WHMB-TV – Indianapolis, IN – LeSEA Broadcasting of Indianapolis, Inc. — $18,325,111

WKBS-TV – Johnstown-Altoona, PA – Cornerstone Television, Inc. — $10,361,255

WAGV – Knoxville, TN – Living Faith Ministries, Inc. — $7,536,418

WTLW – Lima, OH – American Christian Television Services, Inc. — $7,697,376

WVCY-TV – Milwaukee, WI – VCY America Inc. — $76,342,409

WTBY-TV – New York, NY – Trinity Broadcasting of New York, Inc. — $162,402,181 (TBN)

WACX – Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL – Associated Christian Television System, Inc. — $20,310,061

WTGL – Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL – Good Life Broadcasting, Inc. — $20,394,122

WFMZ-TV – Philadelphia, PA – Maranatha Broadcasting Company, Inc. — $140,482,163

WGTW-TV -Philadelphia, PA -Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, Inc.– $80,807,629 (TBN)

WDWL – Puerto Rico – Teleadoracion Christian Network, Inc. – $7,780,506

WHFL-CD – Raleigh-Durham, NC – Free Life Ministries, Inc. — $2,721,376

WRAY-TV – Raleigh-Durham, NC – Radiant Life Ministries, Inc. — $62,419,828

WFFP-TV – Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA – Morning Star Broadcasting, LLC — $23,182,528

WNYI – Syracuse, NY – word of god fellowship, inc. — $2,319,390

WFGC – West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL – Christian Television of Palm Beach County, Inc. – $3,359,483

Total amount: $1,223,872,598

Postscript: We regularly illustrate the wealthy lifestyles of televangeslists, Christian TV broadcasters, etc. For a small example of how the money gets spent, read these 2 Orange County Register articles to view 1) a mansion belonging to TBN and occupied by the late Paul Crouch, Sr. which is currently on the market for $4.35M and 2) a separate mansion belonging to TBN and occupied by the late Jan Crouch which sold for $5.15M in December 2016.

Channel Nine News of Charlotte, NC recently broadcast the news that Todd Coontz has been indicted by the federal government on several charges of tax fraud.  The Trinity Foundation began working with investigative reporter Jim Bradley in December 2012 to help provide information on Todd Coontz and his ministry.  Bradley’s March 2013 report on Coontz features a brief interview with Ole Anthony, President of the Trinity Foundation(view video here).  Recently Ole was interviewed by the Christian Post about our work with Bradley on that investigation and Ole’s response to the indictment (read article here).

Channel 9 June 23 news clip about Coontz’s indictment can be viewed here.

The federal indictment by the US Secret Service includes items mentioned in Bradley’s 2013 report on Coontz: that he owned a $1.38 million condo, a Ferrari, and a Maserati under his ministry’s name; and used ministry funds to pay for more than $227,000 in clothes and $140,000 at restaurants; in addition to taking luxury vacations. According to the government, Coontz owes a surplus of $326,000 in tax payments from the years 2010-2013.

Carra Crouch received a favorable outcome in court on Monday on a case which took eleven years to go to trial!  On June 5th the court awarded Carra $2 million dollars for her pain and suffering after a sexual assault by a TBN employee.  Although initially they ruled that Jan Crouch was only 45% responsible for her pain and suffering, assigning the remainder to her mother and the assailant, that was overruled based on the fact that California law only apportions accountability in negligence claims. 

This was initially ruled as an intentional infliction of emotional distress because of the way that Jan Crouch reacted to her granddaughter when she told her about the assault.  Now, TBN is responsible to pay Carra the entire $2 million in damages, as reported by the Orange County Register here.

TBN’s lawyers, who have filed a total of 22 lawsuits against Carra’s sister Brittany, were once called “vexatious litigants” by a federal judge.  Having been given a chance to correct their behavior, they (view our post here) have indicated that they reserve the right to fight the decision by the judge.

The granddaughter of the late TBN founder Jan Crouch was just awarded $2 million dollars in damages for emotional pain incurred from an alleged molestation and rape in 2006.  The court ruled that TBN is responsible to pay Jan Crouch’s portion of that ($900,000) because of Jan’s mishandling of her granddaughter’s claim of abuse that happened at a telethon by a TBN employee.  We are deeply disturbed to see this family involved in so much litigation with one another and saddened to see them in so much pain.  (Read the New York Times Article on the Trial here)

Paula White-Cain claims she can walk into the president’s office and pray for him any time she wishes, but before the prosperity preacher would answer Heat Street reporter Jillian Melchior’s list of questions, Ms. Melchior, Heat Street and owner Dow Jones were all threatened with a lawsuit by Paula’s lawyer—so much for “turn the other cheek”.  Ms. Melchior’s lengthy article illustrates how Ms. White-Cain asks for money—lots of it—and ends with a brief interview with Ole Anthony and our warning to the Trump administration about Mrs. White-Cain—read it here.

Major Prophet Shepherd Bushiri coming out of his jet

We recently engaged in discussions providing information and assistance to the South African Secular Society, who are attempting to help their fledgling democratic government develop legislation and case law to combat religious fraud and excess in South Africa—and there’s loads of it.  It’s sad to say, but the US has exported the “name-it, claim-it” gospel around the world—to the poorest people of the world.  Ole Anthony calls it spiritual pornography—self-seeking in the name of God which soon becomes spiritual cancer.

Nowhere is this bald-faced lie more glaring and destructive than in Africa where the great majority of workers earn less than a dollar a day.

“Planting your seed” is nowadays generally taught to mean donating your money into a ministry to get some sort of blessing, either financial success or physical healing.  It never works for the poor but quite like a fraudulent pyramid scheme, it only enriches its prosperity preacher proponents at the top of the pyramid who live in luxury and use donor funds as their personal bank account.

Think “spiritual porn” is a bit of an exaggeration?  Watch Malawi born mega-church pastor Shepherd Bushiri’s arrival and reception to the adulation of tens’ of thousands and some of his parlor trick performances here.  Among other pseudo miracles, Bushiri claims he can walk on air, photograph angels with a “random” IPAD, and prophesy the future.

Bushiri’s first name is ironic—a shepherd is supposed to care for his flock and place his charge’s interests over his own.  QZ.com, a Global Online newspaper whose main office is in New York, reports Mr. Bushiri recently acquired a Gulfstream III jet and claimed on Facebook it’s “My third jet in two years”. [1]

Bushiri is pastor of the Enlightened Church Gathering (ECG) with its largest congregation in Pretoria and branches across the African Continent.  It claims to have over 300,000 registered members.

Also president of Shepherd Bushiri Investments (SBI) and the Bushiri Consultancy in Dubai, he claims massive wealth.  According to Malawi’s Nyasa Times, Bushiri is a billionaire entrepreneur whose ventures include gold mines, oil exploration and production, SB Airways which charters private jets in South Africa, a mobile phone service provider called PSB Network in South Africa, hotels in South Africa and Mauritius (a small island west of Madagascar), producing and selling an energy drink called “Favor”, as well as several other companies in Dubai, Ethiopia, Cyprus, and Zambia.

Bushiri is not alone among African pastors who own or whose ministries own corporate jets.  The largest concentration of private preacher jets is located in Nigeria.  We intend to report more on this in future posts.

inside Bushiri’s jet

More from South Africa:  Last month we reported that Pastor Timothy Omotoso of the Jesus Dominion International ministry was arrested and charged with sex trafficking April 20 by a South African law enforcement organization similar to the FBI.   More here… 

[1] Lily Kuo, ANNOINTED—Malawian pastor defends buying a third private jet by saying, “I am what God says.. I was born a winner”, QZ.com, Quartz Media, January 2016

Numerous agents from the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS and Postal Inspectors wearing POLICE jackets raided the nerve center of Hinn’s ministry, the World Healing Center Church in Grapevine Texas to carry out an extensive search warrant. One reporter estimated as many as 50 agents were inside the ministry gathering boxes and boxes of evidence and loading it onto trucks for two days beginning Wednesday April 26th. One IRS agent mentioned that their job was to investigate financial crimes.

Three television crews dropped by our Trinity Foundation offices on Wednesday to interview our president Ole Anthony, ask about our investigations of Hinn for the US Senate Finance Committee from 2005 through 2010, and see what else we knew. On Thursday, we helped WFAA News 8 find a young man who Hinn claimed to be healed of blindness when he was a boy back in 2001. Watch both segments here.

If you have any undisclosed information about Benny Hinn or his ministry, please send it to our contact email trinity@trinityfi.org or call our office at 214-827-2625. Your identity will remain confidential as long as you wish.