TBN Corruption: 180-Pg Declaration by Exiled TBN Granddaughter in Koper v. TBN

http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/05/20/tbn-extravagance-read-internal-memos-for-yourself/155188/

TBN extravagance? Read internal memos for yourself

We’ve been telling you about the charges leveled by the granddaughter of Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Paul and Jan Crouch, who accused the world’s largest Christian broadcaster of playing fast and loose with the ministry’s millions – and then provided internal documents to back up her claims.

Trinity accused her of the true financial misdeeds, called her assertions nonsense, and tried to keep the internal documents she possessed under wraps. They were stolen, and may have been altered, Trinity says.

We’ve been bringing you stories based on Brittany Koper‘s 180-page declaration (Confidential memo: ‘TBN practices … violate the IRS Code’ and Extravagant spending a pervasive issue for Trinity, internal review says) for the past few days, but we hadn’t posted the full Koper document, as it’s quite large.

There have been repeated requests for it from various corners over the past week, and so, after wrestling with Adobe Acrobat and WordPress, we’ve broken it into pieces. You can read the documents yourself by clicking on the links below (and if you don’t see the document on the first try, hit “reload,” and that usually does the trick):

• Pages 1-34 from Brittany Koper Declaration
• Pages 35-69 from Brittany Koper Declaration
• Pages from Pages 70-104 from Brittany Koper Declaration
• Pages 105-130 from Brittany Koper Declaration
• Pages 131- 157 from Brittany Koper Declaration
• Pages 158-180 from Brittany Koper Declaration

There have been a great deal of jaw-dropping allegations in suits related to this one, including that Trinity purchased a $50 million jet through “a sham loan to an alter ego corporation” for the personal use of the Crouches; a $100,000 motor home purchased by Trinity as a mobile residence for Jan Crouch’s dogs; “multiple residential estates” falsely reported as guest homes or church parsonages to avoid income disclosures; meal expenses of up to ahalf-million dollars per company director; “personal chauffeurs compensated with Trinity funds under the guise of medical payments;” and “multiple cover-ups of sexual and criminal scandals.” (Details in Suit: ‘Cover-ups of sexual and criminal scandals’ at TBN)

Koper also accused the world’s largest Christian broadcaster of unlawfully distributing charitable assets worth more than $50 million to the company’s directors.

Trinity Christian Center, which does business as TBN, is a nonprofit in the eyes of Uncle Sam, which means it doesn’t pay taxes on its income. It reported

• revenues of $175.6 million (including donor contributions of $92.5 million),
• expenses of $193.7 million,
• and net assets of $827.6 million at the end of 2010, according to its tax returns.
• Its highest-paid officer was Paul Crouch, with compensation of $400,000.

Losing its tax-exempt status has been the big concern voiced in the documents Koper furnished — which could cost Trinity tens of millions of dollars each year if it came to pass.

Jan Crouch has called TBN Jesus’ TV station, and thanked its donors for keeping it on the air.

More Trinity:

• Suit alleges TBN covered up rape of 13-year-old
• From beloved granddaughter to exiled accuser: Brittany Koper and TBN
• Settlement reached in TBN age discrimination case
• TBN suit: Senior workers ‘too old, too sick, and too lazy'
• Relatives threatened to ‘destroy' Crouch granddaughter
• TBN extravagance? Read internal memos for yourself
• TBN to judge: Stop Watchdog blogger
• Extravagant spending a pervasive issue for Trinity, internal review says
• Confidential memo: ‘TBN practices ... violate the IRS Code'
• ‘Christian sympathy' and ethical violations in Trinity fight?