Marriage counselor and sex therapist Dr. Doug Weiss has become a host of Daystar Television Network’s TV show MinistryNow after marrying Daystar co-founder Joni Lamb, following the death of her late husband Marcus Lamb.
Weiss founded Healing Time Ministries and the American Association for Sex Addiction Therapy. Both entities operate in a questionable manner.
An investigation by journalist Jene Nelson revealed that Healing Time Ministries appears to have filed a fraudulent postcard 990 with the IRS.
In 2022, the Carl H and Edyth B Lindner Foundation gave a $400,000 grant to Healing Time Ministries. However, Weiss’ non-profit organization reported to the IRS that its total revenue for 2022 was $50,000 or less.
Where did this money go? It would be appropriate for the IRS Exempt Organizations Division to audit the non-profit organization to find out.
Based on the name of the Weiss association for sex therapists, one might think it is a non-profit. However, the association is not listed in the IRS database of tax-exempt organizations and doesn’t file a Form 990, which is a requirement for non-profit organizations that are not churches.
A search of the Colorado Secretary of State website reveals the American Association for Sex Addiction Therapy is a trade name registered to Weiss and not to a non-profit entity.
The association doesn’t appear to be an organized body of people and the association’s website does not disclose officers such as a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer.
While there is no legal requirement that an association be incorporated as a non-profit, the business name may mislead therapists regarding the structure of the organization.
Instead, the association appears to operate as a sole proprietorship. Wikipedia explains, “A sole proprietorship … is a type of enterprise owned and run by one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity.”
Trade Names in Ministry
The use of trade names, also called fictitious business names or DBAs (Doing Business As), is quite common among megachurches and large media ministries.
Trade names are usually registered with each state’s secretary of state website and allow businesses and non-profit organizations to operate with a different name than what they were incorporated with. In California, trade names are registered on county websites.
When a church or ministry registers a trade name, they can open a secondary bank account using the trade name. Opportunities for embezzlement of funds increase as more bank accounts are created.
Daystar Television Network is a trade name registered to Word of God Fellowship, Incorporated.
Trinity Broadcasting Network is a trade name registered to Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, Inc. and Trinity Broadcasting of Texas, Inc.
In America, there is a growing trend of churches and ministries reducing financial transparency and trade names play an important role in this problem.
Thirty years ago, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries operated separately from Swaggart’s church Family Worship Center and filed the Form 990 information return with the IRS, disclosing salaries of highly compensated employees and other important expenses.
In 1997, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries merged with the church and stopped filing a 990. However, the church continues to use the name Jimmy Swaggart Ministries after registering it as a trade name in Louisiana.
The IRS classifies Jimmy Swaggart Ministries as an integrated auxiliary. According to the IRS website, integrated auxiliaries are “a class of organizations related to churches … but are not such organizations themselves.”
Due to a loophole in the United States tax code large media ministries operating as integrated auxiliaries are not required to file the Form 990 information return which discloses total revenue, total expenses, salaries of highly compensated employees and other expenses. As a result, donors often lack critical financial information for the organizations they support.
Let the Donor Be Wary
Trinity Foundation recommends that donors withhold their support to organizations that aren’t transparent about where the money goes.