Responding to a lawsuit accusing Dallas-based Gateway Church of financial fraud, Gateway Elder Tra Willbanks assured congregants over the weekend that the church has “independently audited financial statements since 2005.”

He added, “These audits have demonstrated that our finances are managed consistent with best practices, and we have never had any wrongdoing revealed through these audits.”

The firm conducting the audits is Capin Crouse, a nationally recognized auditing firm for nonprofit organizations, Willbanks said.

However, a “seasoned CPA,” mentioned as a whistleblower in the lawsuit filed Friday against Gateway, told The Roys Report (TRR) that Gateway did not conduct any audits during his time on staff,  from 2011-2014. Instead, Gateway conducted financial reviews, which “are not designed to detect errors or fraud.”

He also noted that Gateway’s Global Ministries, where the alleged fraud claimed in the lawsuit occurred, was outside the scope of reviews during his tenure.

That CPA is former Gateway Executive Pastor of Global Ministries Allen Shoulders, who also is a retired former partner at a Big 4 accounting firm. Shoulders has released a statement exclusively to The Roys Report (TRR) and has spoken with us exclusively, as well.

TRR is waiting to release most of Shoulders’ statement and interview to allow Gateway more time to respond to specific allegations contained in them. However, we are releasing a portion of the statement and interview today because it relates to Willbanks’ statement last weekend.

The recent lawsuit alleged that Gateway fraudulently claimed it gave 15% of members’ tithe to global missions.

Given that Gateway has annual revenue around $100 million, the church should have been giving $15 million a year to global missions, according to the lawsuit. However, the suit claimed a “seasoned CPA” (Shoulders) said the church never gave more than $3 million to missions any year he worked there. 

The suit also claimed the CPA found unexplained withdrawals from Gateway’s global fund, totaling $1.5 million. But when the CPA pressed then-Senior Pastor Robert Morris and then-Senior Executive Pastor Tom Lane for answers, the men refused to investigate and instead accepted the CPA’s resignation, the suit said.

Though much of the lawsuit is based on Shoulders’ statement, Shoulders is not party to the suit.

The suit comes as Gateway has been embroiled in controversy, following the resignation of Robert Morris. Morris resigned in June, after allegations surfaced that he had sexually molested an Oklahoma woman in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12 years old.

‘No financial audits’

In the statement Shoulders released to TRR, he said Gateway had “no financial audits” during his time on staff. But he said at the end of 2011, Gateway had a small firm in Lubbock, Texas, conduct a review. He added:

It is important to understand that a review is a far lesser service than an audit and merely consists of inquiries. It does not involve auditing actual records and third party evidence for the accuracy of the financial statement and it is not designed to detect errors or fraud.

For this reason, a review only provides negative assurance — a statement that the accountant is not aware of any errors based upon the responses to their inquiries. This is much less assurance than an audit opinion which would state that the financial statements are fairly stated in all material respects.

Shoulders added that during the 2011 review, he was not questioned or asked to meet with the manager of the review, “who had about four years of experience.” Shoulders also stated that Gateway’s Global Ministries was not included in the review.

“He (review manager) informed me that it wasn’t necessary for him to question me because Gateway Global Ministries was outside the scope of the review, (emphasis in the original)” Shoulders wrote.

Shoulders said he had “no contact” with the accountants conducting Gateway’s 2012 and 2013 reviews and left before the 2014 review.

Shoulders added in a statement to TRR, “I was an auditor and I can say unequivocally that Gateway Global Ministries was not subjected to any audit procedures during my tenure.”

He concluded, “Despite the handling of well over $1 billion over 10 years, to my knowledge, and despite Gateway’s claims to the contrary, there has not to date been a clear financial report to Gateway members, attested to by independent accountants (emphasis in original statement). Common sense and the amounts and circumstances involved would seemingly prompt members to insist upon a financial and forensic audit to determine whether these activities point to a misuse of church funds.”

Gateway acknowledges allegations brought to them weeks ago

In his message this weekend, Willbanks acknowledged that several weeks ago, “a former employee brought several financial related issues to our attention that we felt needed further investigation.”

Willbanks said that despite the “allegations being over 10 years old,” Haynes & Boone, the firm Gateway hired to investigate sex abuse allegations against Morris, “is looking into those areas right now.”

Willbanks added, “We take it seriously. To this point, we have not been able to corroborate any of those specific allegations, but this work is still ongoing.”

Shoulders confirmed that he met with Attorneys Ron Breaux and Taryn McDonald of Haynes & Boone on Aug. 28. But he noted that Breaux and McDonald are listed as white-collar criminal defense attorneys, who normally defend the organizations that hire them.

On the law firm’s website, it states that Breaux is a “veteran trial lawyer” who has “represented companies in mission-critical litigation and investigation.”

The firm describes McDonald as someone who has represented “individuals and companies facing actual or threatened government enforcement actions.” It also states that McDonald “also helps her clients investigate and navigate sensitive internal compliance issues and advises them regarding their disclosure obligations.”

Willbanks offers other assurances

Willbanks also said this weekend that “even though we have a full audit done every year . . . we have decided to hire a third party, independent accounting firm to complete a forensic analysis of our finances.” Willbanks said this audit would include investigating the specific allegations of this last week.

“We will report back to you when this work is complete,” Willbanks promised.

Willbanks also said this weekend that Gateway “is in the process of joining” the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

“This will add an additional layer of accountability to our finances,” Willbanks said. “ECFA has several requirements, one of which includes publishing a financial overview to the church.”

As TRR has previously reported, membership in the ECFA is not a guarantee of good financial stewardship or governance. The ECFA has a pattern of accrediting institutions that are grossly negligent, or even criminally fraudulent.

According to Willbanks, the ECFA wants Gateway to complete the Haynes & Boone inquiry prior to granting Gateway membership.

Willbanks also said that Gateway plans to publish its bylaws soon but is waiting until it finishes updating them.

“For example, prior to June 14, they (the bylaws) did not require a majority of non-staff elders,” Willbanks said. “We clearly need a majority of non-staff elders on the eldership.”

ECFA requires all its members to have a majority of its board members be independent. To be considered independent, a member may not be an employee of the organization or related by blood or marriage to staff members or other board members.

Despite the lawsuit and allegations of financial misconduct, Willbanks said “I still give to Gateway Church. I am all-in on this church, and the elders are all-in on this church. ... It’s not about protecting an institution; it’s about being obedient.”

Shoulders, however, told TRR that he stopped attending Gateway and tithing to the church after he resigned his position in 2014.

In his statement, he added that “current and former members who have heeded Robert Morris’ repeated encouragements to give generously to Gateway” should demand financial and forensic audits of the church.

This piece is republished from The Roys Report.

Julie Roys is the founder and editor of The Roys Report.