An internal memo,
internal to TBN operatives, warn that TBN practices violates the IRS Code.
May 15, 2012
Insiders have apparently been ringing warning bells over how the nonprofit Trinity
Christian Center of Santa Ana spends its millions for
quite some time — but when the granddaughter of Jan and Paul Crouch
started getting serious about running a tighter ship, her family turned on her
and ultimately called for her head a la John the Baptist,
according to explosive documents recently filed (and promptly sealed) in Superior
Court.
“We know this is a lot at once, but Michael and I feel it’s in TBN’s best
interest to get these issues resolved to protect the ministry,” Brittany
Koper wrote to her grandfather, Paul Crouch, in a confidential memo
dated Aug. 30, shortly after she and husband Michael Koper
were appointed treasurer and secretary.
“We think current TBN practices and procedures violate the IRS Code and
State and Federal Laws…. we do not feel comfortable being Secretary/Treasurer
without bringing these issues forward,” the memo says.
That is among a trove of internal emails, CPA reports, invoices and memos
detailing questions about Trinity’s spending which reveal, among other things,
that grandma Jan Crouch can have a bit of a potty mouth (“OH GOD ARE GRAMMAS
EYES OPENED,” she wrote in one email regarding more than $1 million
spent on a moribund movie. “I M COMING BACK TO GO THRU THAT DEPT LIKE CRAP THRU
A GOOSE.”)
Trinity maintains these documents were stolen or altered, and is trying to
keep them out of the public eye (and off of this blog — but more on that later
today). The assertions in the Koper filing are “untrue, defamatory, and
attempts to use documents that appear to be stolen,” Trinity attorney Colby
May told us by email.
Koper’s attorney, Tymothy MacLeod, said the documents are
what they are, that Koper signed no confidentiality agreement in her last
position with Trinity, and has stolen nothing.
The documents causing all the headaches assert that:
- Some
$50 million flowed to Matthew Crouch’s movie company, Gener8xion,
over a decade. ”Since Matt went on the (Trinity) board in 2007, $4.5M
dollars has flowed to Gener8xion mostly under your signature,” says an
email from Paul Crouch Jr. (Brittany’s father and Matt
Crouch’s brother) to Jan Crouch, his mother, who was shocked. “Including $1.2141
for a Jesus/Les movie that doesn’t exist. (And may never get going until a
script is approved.) That is a clear violation of not only TBN policy, but
we have been warned by (accountants and attorneys) Jim Guinn,
Colby May, John Casoria and Greg Goodyear that
this could even threaten the 401(c)(3) tax status of the network.”
- Tens
of thousands of dollars of expenses were charged to the company’s American Express
card without documentation — including $60,000 from one
high-up over a single three-month period, and $15,328 at
Harley Davidson Orlando, “with no business purpose indicated.”
- Hotel stays exceeded $4,000 per
night, and frequent meals attended by only family members cost up to $212
per person.
- Invoices for more than $8,000 of
goods from Sam Moon, “wholesaler of women’s handbags,
jewelry and accessories,” were paid to Matt Crouch’s wife, Laurie,
apparently twice, by different corporate arms of Trinity.
- Worries were also expressed over the free
“parsonages” that Trinity provided to all of its directors and other
officers “without proper reporting;” “the ‘rent’ fraudulently paid by TBN
to my grandparents, Paul Crouch Sr. and Janice Crouch, for the fictitious
‘use’ of their home;” and payment by Trinity to cover her grandparents’
living expenses, according to the documents.
We at The Watchdog got hold of the records during a 24-hour
window when they were public. Trinity asked that they be sealed until a hearing
can determine whether they are stolen or forgeries. Machinations on that issue
continue in court today, including an attempt by Trinity to stop the Register
from publishing what’s in them.
SOME BACKGROUND
We’ve been telling you how Koper accused
the world’s largest Christian broadcaster of unlawfully distributing charitable
assets worth more than $50 million to its principals — and of
firing her as its finance director, and beginning a campaign of “malicious
retaliation” against her and her family, for refusing to go along with the
scheme.
Trinity paints a very different picture — saying it was Koper and her
husband who committed financial misdeeds. It maintains that the couple
embezzled money, forged documents and misappropriated funds to the tune of some
$400,000. An earlier suit on these allegations was dismissed,
but a new suit revives them.
“(S)everal of the documents appear to have been fabricated or altered by
Koper,” Trinity attorney May told us. “That is a very serious concern, and
until I can determine authenticity, let me properly reiterate what I have said
previously: Trinity takes its financial stewardship seriously, and this is why
it conducts two separate comprehensive and independent annual reviews. The
first review covers all financial procedures, transactions, and record keeping
in order to insure GAAP and FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) compliance.
The second covers IRS compliance. Trinity properly responds to these audits
every year.”
Trinity is the largest Christian broadcaster in the world, subscribing to
the “Have a need? Plant a seed” philosophy. Its donors believe that sending
money to the network reaps larger rewards later on. Trinity spent $194
million in 2010, and had close to $1 billion in
assets, according to its last tax return.
This paperwork was filed by Koper in support of Joseph McVeigh, her
uncle by marriage. McVeigh’s complaint against Trinity and its lawyers — of
malicious prosecution in connection with a loan he received through Trinity
companies — is one of a swirl of suits and countersuits between the parties.
Some of the documents in the Koper stash, if authentic, may make it harder
for Trinity to argue that Koper had ill-intent from the beginning. An email
from Jan Crouch to family members noted, in caps (which she apparently uses
when agitated),
“BRITTANY BEGAN THE RESEARCH WITH DON GUINN (a C.P.A.) AND CAME TO PAPA AND
ME WITH A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE STOPPED AND MADE RIGHT
SHE DID A GOOD WONDERFUL NEEDED SEARCH AND WE WILL DEAL WITH ALL OF THIS
LETS START TODAY CHANGING EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG”
More soon.
(Note: The
bolding of names and numbers is our style here on Watchdog; this type does not
appear in the original documents. )
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?
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