Posts in Corruption
EPC Church Charged for Sharing Information with MinistryWatch

After MinistryWatch published an article about the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the administrative commission (AC) of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies filed additional charges and an indictment against Pastor Nate Devlin and the Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church session (or board of elders). The trial could result in punishment ranging from admonition to excommunication.

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Gateway Church Responds to Fraud Allegations, But Whistleblower Disputes Claim

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.” However, a “seasoned CPA,” told The Roys Report (TRR) that Gateway did not conduct any audits during his time on staff, from 2011-2014.

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Christian Billionaire Bill Hwang Convicted of Fraud

A Christian billionaire and philanthropist accused of inflating a business portfolio to $36 billion was convicted Wednesday on several counts of financial fraud. Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang, founder and co-CEO of Archegos Capital Management, was convicted by a federal jury on 10 criminal counts,

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Trial Kicks Off for Christian Billionaire Bill Hwang’s Fraud Scheme

Earlier this month, billionaire trader and philanthropist Bill Hwang appeared in court to answer for his role in a high-stakes Wall Street meltdown that saw several large banks lose billions in days. Jury selection began last week, followed by opening statements and the first witness testimony on Monday. The trial is expected to last eight weeks.

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‘The Exvangelicals’: Q&A With Journalist And Author Sarah McCammon

In the “The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church,” Sarah McCammon, a national political correspondent for NPR, shares — with a sometimes visceral honesty — the everyday currency of childhood in an evangelical subculture in which the Bible was the ultimate authority.

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Two Documentaries Portray Religious Groups Capitalizing On Fear And Shame

(OPINION) Two recent documentary series offer distressing portraits of Christian organizations that, although unrelated, appear eerily similar. Both movements gained prominence in part by instilling fear and shame in their members. Both have reaped abuse, scandal and decline.

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The Disturbing Truth: Illinois Bishops Still Hiding Child-Molesting Clergy

(OPINION) Haven’t bishops — in Illinois and across the U.S. — learned that despite the best efforts of their high-priced lawyers and public relations professionals, victims are becoming increasingly empowered, civil attorneys are becoming more aggressive and creative, law enforcement is becoming more determined, and those who commit and conceal assaults on children are becoming “outed” more and more?

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South Africa And The Legacy Of Jackrollers

The gangsterism style of rape dwindled when South Africa gained its freedom on April 27, 1994. Yet, rape is coming to a rise in a different dimension. Many homes are affected by fathers and brothers who are victimizing and raping their own wives, mothers, daughters and sisters. What is now appalling is the reported recurring incidents of rapes that women and children suffer at the hands of some of the clergy. 

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Latter-day Saints Whistleblower Gives First National TV Interview

A former employee of a $100 billion investment fund owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave an interview on national TV program “60 Minutes” about his experience working at the Salt Lake City-based Ensign Peak Advisors Inc. and what drove him to file a whistleblower complaint with the IRS and other government entities.

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Massacres And Miracles From Colombia to Nigeria: Who Will Tell These Stories?

(OPINION) The future journalist was both shocked and inspired by her contact with Christians caught in that land's toxic climate of paramilitary warfare, drug trafficking and kidnappings. She struggled to grasp how someone like pilot Russell Martin Stendal, after years held for ransom, could forgive his kidnappers and then start a missionary effort to convert them.

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LDS Church And Investment Fund To Pay $5 Million To SEC For Failing To Disclose Equity Investments

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Ensign Peak Advisers Inc. and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints agreed to pay $5 million in penalties to settle charges against the investment fund operating inside the nonprofit entity of the church.

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Pope Francis Vs. Cardinal Becciu: Inside The Vatican's ‘Trial Of The Century’

(ANALYSIS) Something akin to a Catholic “Trial of the Century” has gotten underway in Rome and there’s plenty of palace intrigue to go around. The trial involving corruption, bad real estate deals and financial wrongdoing has placed Pope Francis in the center of a controversy that for the first time doesn’t involve doctrine or theology.

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