More than $1.7 million in financial surpluses have mysteriously disappeared from two religious non-profits led by prophetess Juanita Bynum.
Annual financial surpluses generated by the organizations were not reported as assets. This failure to report total assets should serve as a red flag to potential donors.
The following screenshot from Juanita Bynum International Inc.’s 2021 Form 990 shows a surplus of $592,324 in 2021 and $336,926 in 2020 on line 19. None of these funds were listed in Total Assets on line 20.
The following spreadsheet reveals $1,764,427 in surpluses (net income) not reported as assets from 2016 to 2021. Juanita Bynum International Inc. converted from a for-profit company to a non-profit entity in 2020, which explains why the organization did not file a 990 prior to 2020. In other words, when an organization takes in over half a million dollars in one year and spends less than $40,000 WHERE DID THE MONEY GO if there are no assets.
The 2022 Form 990s for both organizations report that founder Bynum received zero compensation and that neither non-profit had any employees.
Note that the two organizations did begin reporting surpluses as assets in 2022, but with no corrections or reporting of the missing funds from prior years.
Juanita Bynum International reported only donation revenue in 2022. However, during that year Bynum spoke at various venues and her ministry may have collected speaking honorariums. Also, Bynum offered a $1,499.99 prayer course which received critical media attention, raising the possibility that additional revenue was not reported.
Where did the money go?
The IRS has statutory authority to audit the two non-profit ministries. If the IRS classifies the ministries as churches, the IRS could audit for up to three fiscal years due to restrictions imposed by the Church Audit Procedures Act.
If the IRS were to discover that funds were embezzled by a ministry officer or employee, tax evasion charges could be filed as the money was apparently not reported as income.
If ministry accountants made “honest” accounting errors, then a revised Form 990 should be submitted to the IRS revealing an accurate record of total assets.
When Trinity Foundation produced an investigative report for the IRS in 2022, recommending an audit for New Juanita Bynum II Ministry Inc., the IRS had a large backlog of unprocessed Form 990s not available for public review.
After upgrading its processing facility with new equipment, the IRS has eliminated the backlog.
History of Lavish Spending
In 2002, Bynum married Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III in an extravagant production. According to Essence Magazine, Bynum’s wedding dress “took nine months to make, cost $65,000 and her wedding ceremony cost $1.2 million.”
Religion News Blog reports, “The ‘million-dollar’ wedding of Dr. Juanita Bynum, well-known evangelist and author of the best-selling Matters of the Heart, to Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III featured a wedding party of 80, all friends and family, 1,000 guests, a 12-piece orchestra, and a 7.76-carat diamond ring.”
Bynum filed for divorce in 2007. The law firm Kessler & Solomiany which represented Weeks during the divorce reported, “Bynum requested some antiques she had collected and agreed to pay $40,000 in attorney fees for Weeks. Their bank accounts were divided, and each party will retain ownership of the debt and assets they had before marriage.”
BOYCOTT
Trinity Foundation recommends that donors financially boycott Bynum’s ministries at this time.