An interesting development
with the TBN lawsuits. One of the two suits has been dropped, not dismissed. There is a difference, but we doubt Charisma’s journalists have legal
backgrounds. Why this happened is not clear yet; this suit is less clear than the main one filed by Paul Crouch's Grand-daughter, Brittany Koper.
Colby May, TBN’s attorney,
continues the same mantra of defense offered in other news accounts. Same tune, but in a different key. We covered this at:
LA Times: TBN Lawsuit
& Financial Fraud
NY Times Covers TBN v.
(Granddaughter) Koper Case in re "Fraud Allegations"
Youtube Roundup on TBN
Lawsuit
Here’s Charisma’s article. See: http://www.charismanews.com/us/33409-exclusive-lawsuit-against-tbn-dismissed
EXCLUSIVE: Lawsuit Against TBN Dismissed
12:41PM EDT
5/15/2012 Charisma News Staff
(Paul and Jan
Crouch to the left)
Christian television giant Trinity Broadcasting Network
(TBN) got some good—although not unexpected—news May 7 when a lawsuit that has
been fuel for a flurry of potentially libelous news articles against the
network was suddenly dropped by attorneys for the plaintiff.
The suit filed by Joseph McVeigh, the uncle of a former
TBN manager who admitted to misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars
in network funds, alleged that high-level TBN officials had misused millions of
dollars from the network to fund a lavish lifestyle of multiple mansions,
private jets, luxury automobiles and expensive meals.
TBN attorney and spokesman Colby May explained that the
entire suit was nothing more than a ploy to divert attention from the actions
of McVeigh, his nephew Michael Koper, and Koper’s wife Brittany, who was TBN’s
former finance director as well as the granddaughter of TBN founders Paul and
Jan Crouch.
“The truth of the matter is that this lawsuit was never
anything more than a smokescreen to obscure the Kopers’ own misappropriation of
ministry funds, as well as their illegal loan of over $65,000 to Mr. McVeigh,”
said May. “There was never any lavish or reckless spending of ministry money by
the Crouches or any other TBN officials: no hundred thousand dollar motor homes
for pets, private jets for personal use or any other unaccountable
expenditures.”
May explained that McVeigh’s attorneys quickly moved to
have the lawsuit dismissed after TBN’s attorneys filed a motion charging that
the suit violated California’s SLAPP law prohibiting meritless lawsuits filed
to intimidate or silence a defendant. “Courts take a dim view of this kind of
legal maneuvering, and McVeigh and his attorneys got caught, plain and simple,”
May said.
TBN, he predicted, will ultimately be vindicated in a
similar lawsuit filed by Brittany Koper. While TBN is not a defendant in that
action, May said that Koper’s attorneys (who also represented McVeigh in his
suit) used the suit to try to attack TBN’s reputation and integrity.
“The salacious accusations in the Koper action are
similar to those made by McVeigh,” May pointed out, “and for the same reason:
to divert attention from the truth that the Kopers used their positions of
authority and trust at TBN to divert significant amounts of ministry funds for
their own personal use.”
Meanwhile, May said, TBN continues to pursue its
unchanged mission of broadcasting inspirational and family programming around the
world.
“Unfortunately, these kinds of attacks can impact a
ministry in a variety of ways,” May conceded. “But we’re thankful that TBN’s
financial and ministry partners have continued to stand with us, knowing that
the spiritual and financial integrity that has given us success over the past
40 years will guide us into the future.”
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