The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined the Mormon Church (Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS)) $5 million for hiding $32 billion from the federal government by using 13 shell companies.
“We allege that the LDS Church’s investment manager, with the Church’s knowledge, went to great lengths to avoid disclosing the Church’s investments, depriving the Commission and the investing public of accurate market information,” Gurbir S. Grewal, the agency’s enforcement director, said in a statement.
PBS News Hour
The Church has quite an extensive portfolio of assets that include real estate, stocks, and bonds that is mostly managed by the company Ensign Peaks. Whistleblower David Nielsen is a Mormon and worked for the investment firm. In 2019 he went to the IRS with his concerns. Neilsen wanted the tax-exempt status of Ensign Peaks to be revoked. The money saved by the LDS was supposed to be used for charity. It wasn’t. It was hoarded and hidden for 22 years!
It wouldn’t be a faith-based financial scandal without, well, the faith.
Nielsen said the firm’s leader had instead suggested to staff that the church intended to keep the money for the “second coming of Christ,” which, according to Mormon teachings, will be marked by war (the head of Ensign Park told the Journal his comments were misinterpreted).
Forbes
Because that’s what The Book of Revelation says, right? When Christ comes back he’s gonna wanna get paid.
Thankfully, the government is on the job. They are fining the church $1 million and Ensign Peak will pay $4 million.
One Reddit user pointed out that’s a .015% fine. And that just seems like a very small cost of doing business.
I ranted a tweet on Twitter the other day that until those high up in organizations responsible for criminal behavior (yes, I’m looking at you FOX News) actually face jail time, then we will be plagued with this sort of behavior.
It’s clear that institutions can not police themselves. We can’t rely on police departments to keep themselves from murdering innocent people. We can’t rely on Wall Street to keep itself in check. What we need are laws that disincentivize such criminal behavior, systems that execute those laws, and people with the guts who will do it.
What do you think?
In case you want a chuckle after reading something like this, then check out Prominent creationist Ken Ham links men’s nipples to nursing dinosaurs.
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