Auditor Says 128 Million Unaccounted For From Gospel For Asia Ledgers
Warren Throckmorton has the story complete with a chart.
Can’t imagine any board member being unaware of this…and if they weren’t they were in neglect of their fiduciary duties.
Skip’s right…there should be an external investigation….
Is that how much it costs to build your own denomination these days? Just wondering.
I hope people are taking note of these figures.
Who continues to give to a “ministry” like this?
I have to say I admire these folks more and more, I lack their morals and steadfastness in service to God. If I ever got that kind of money my first thing would be to open a board and care home as many in my area are closing because of the cost of living and like is often said to me at meetings, in person and online if those people cant afford to live here they need to move. Of course being the spiritual piece of trash that I am I say “move where?”. That usually ends the conversation. Of course that is a pathetic pipe dream on my part.
Yeah, yeah. Just more he said / she said. Warren better get together some kind of independent investigation that GFA agrees to before we can assume any guilt. To assume guilt before that would be unbiblical. (I read that somewhere just the other day.) This guy who Warren has doing the numbers is obviously not independent enough. Nor would be the ECFA. We’ve got to find someone that GFA agrees to. Maybe a nephew of K.P.’s. Or maybe a bishop who has previously kissed his ring. Yes, someone like this who is truly independent. I am sure they would be able to straighten it all out and let us that the $128 million was put to good use and we have nothing to worry about.
it seems to me that the call for an “external” investigation is a bit disingenuous – what is needed is accountability (no pun intended) – it used to be that an audit was all that was needed to prove the fiscal integrity of a money handler
an old lady doesn’t carry any weight in the world of churchianity, but in light of what Warren has posted, i accuse any churches still collecting funds for GFA of either embarrassing ignorance or denial and outright fraud
for those who might skip over the significance of what Warren T. has documented already taken from Wikipedia as an FYI:
“None of the Big Four firms is a single firm; rather, they are professional services networks. Each is a network of firms, owned and managed independently, which have entered into agreements with other member firms in the network to share a common name, brand and quality standards. Each network has established an entity to co-ordinate the activities of the network. In one case (KPMG), the co-ordinating entity is Swiss, and in three cases (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young) the co-ordinating entity is a UK limited company. Those entities do not themselves perform external professional services, and do not own or control the member firms. They are similar to law firm networks found in the legal profession.
In many cases each member firm practices in a single country, and is structured to comply with the regulatory environment in that country. In 2007, KPMG announced a merger of four member firms
Ernst & Young also includes separate legal entities which manage three of its four areas: Americas, EMEIA (Europe, The Middle East, India and Africa), and Asia-Pacific. (Note: the Japan area does not have a separate area management entity). These firms coordinate services performed by local firms within their respective areas but do not perform services or hold ownership in the local entities”
the dogs have found the evidence, now where are the cops?
Nothing to see here folks. Just keep moving on and drop your checks in the GFA donation box.
Two words. Cayman Islands
Is there any way that IRS looks into this or some government body?
I’m with you Brian! It takes some kind of genius to swindle thousands of Christians for over a decade and walk with over $100 million… pure genius!
coincidently, this morning i was reading the account of Ananias’ attempt to cheat God… all his wife had to do was simply say, we were wrong and i repent of my involvement… seems there’s a lesson there for some folk, who may think more highly of themselves than they ought to, in this situation… some time back corporate model churching was the focus here… it is a heady world of games – not a good model for carrying out the work of God
Just so you do not miss it, the graph also shows that the total percentage missing is increasing each year. From 2006-2013 the graph shows a total of 21.8% missing. But in the last year of 2013 the graph for that year shows over 40% missing. This is a trend worth noticing.
Gospel for Asia is a joke. Calvary Chapel is a joke. Nothing new here.
j2, i suspect that God is laughing, however
ummm… make this
j2, i suspect that God is NOT laughing, however
It seems everyone is assuming that money is missing.This is some guy (highly qualified as he is) comparing numbers in multiple financial reports, to numbers they found via a google search. I’d be more concerned if they were an auditor with access to the full financial reports on the Asian side of things.
Smh. But no biggie according to Calvary Chapel, Skip Heitzig and others
Skip resigned, along with other board
member, yet his position is basicallyto pass the envelope summing it up as she said. he said. I have s letter from CS that is a pretty close duplicate to a person who could had helped, but did not. as a result that young boy lost his life does he want to do it. he was betrayed by the church the he grew up in by the youth pastor no longer is a part of CC.
so these resignation or a coincidental???
Delete: “does he want to do it.”
“are coincidental???
Elephant – The numbers Jason is using on the Indian side are not simply from a Google search.
They are taken from the Indian FC-6 forms required to be completed by charities. Charities must report all foreign contributions in detail. The amount given to India should match what is reported in India. The amounts do not match up with a $128 million discrepancy.
Warren, that would be the ‘Kerala’ FC6 forms, not the ‘Indian’ FC6 forms. An important distinction. This former auditor is working with the assumption that all foreign money was sent directly to the office in Kerala.
But, let’s just put it in his own words, taken from the fine print at the bottom of that chart:
“The preparer of this data expressly disclaims any responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of the underlying source documents and thus any summary or analysis that is based on these source documents, as the preparer does not have every financial statement, financial disclosure or underlying accounting record of Gospel for Asia or its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, owners or related parties… Any and all conclusions are the responsibility of the reader.”
Typical “don’t sue me if I’m wrong” wording, but they underscore the issue. That chart is based on incomplete data, and thus the conclusion is in serious question. It should not be taken as definitive proof. But hey, that hasn’t stopped any one before. If you guys want this to be the biggest financial scandal and are salivating at the thought that another Christian ministry is corrupt, then go for it. Both you and the people at Gospel for Asia are accountable to God, and He judges the heart.
@21
You do not understand how funds are shown. If you are confused, look up FC6 forms by state to familiarize yourself.
Elephant5,
If you’re so sure of the righteousness of your position why the fake name and email address?
@nathan My apologies. If there is any other FC6 form this former auditor used, I would appreciate knowing it. From my own research, it seems like the only financial documents on the Asian side of things are the FC6 reports from Kerala state. If there are other documents referenced, I would greatly appreciate knowing what.
I just think it is ignorant to think that is the only way that funds have been sent. And, if I am ignorant, I would greatly appreciate being educated.
@michael Fake names and email address are how I typically interact online, its not anything special for you guys. 🙂
I haven’t said anything about righteousness in my position. I haven’t said anything about who I think is right. I have merely remarked that the chart was most likely based on incomplete information. I for one don’t like accepting questionable information and conclusions if I know that the source data is in question.
Elephant – Do you know where else money was sent? If you do, please share. I can’t tell from your answer if you have some knowledge you aren’t sharing or if you are guessing and hoping that the information Jason and I are using is incomplete.
A week or so ago, a reader told me that a GFA staffer claimed that money was sent to other states. In response, I checked every Indian state on the FCRA website and found no other listings for Gospel for Asia, Believers’ Church, Love India Ministries, or Last Hour Ministries. What is supposed to happen is that the money is sent to the headquarters for these organizations which is in Kerala.
If you have evidence, please share how to find it on the FCRA website.
PS – GFA’s 2013 audit claims that $58.5 million was sent to GFA-India in 2013. That is a specific destination in Kerala. Only about $6 million was reported by GFA. Additional money was sent to Believers’ Church, Last Hour Ministries, and Love India Ministries but even with those funds, there was a $20 million short fall during that year alone. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2015/06/03/gospel-for-asia-reports-one-thing-in-american-audit-another-in-indian-report/
I repeat; if you know other organizations where funds were sent by GFA to anywhere in India, please provide that information. If GFA is telling you that story, then please ask them for the specific organizations so we can all look at the public records and verify the claim. This should not be difficult, all GFA has to do is provide the same information to the public here as they are supposed to provide to the Indian govt and the public there, if indeed it exists.
@warren I simply think it is profoundly ignorant to think there would be no attempt to hide such a massive discrepancy. Seriously, if all it takes is a online search and a financial statement that is supposed to be made available on request, someone isn’t trying or there is an alternate explanation. Plus, if this KP has full control over Believers Church and Gospel for Asia, then why wouldn’t all the money go there? Surely he can do whatever he wants with it?
I also have yet to see any evidence of the misuse of funds. Surely there must be some excess we can point to. Are there ministry leaders living affluent life-styles? Are there staff members driving Bentleys? We’re talking millions here, what is keeping people “in the know” from speaking out?
I’m just trying to look at this logically, and I haven’t found enough evidence to buy in to this whole idea of KP/GFA/Believers Church being corrupt or misusing funds.
Elephant, in other words, you have nothing other than faith in GFA.
An Indian court found GFA to have violated tax law there and said clearly that funds were not being used for the purposes given. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2015/07/17/indian-tax-court-on-gospel-for-asia-and-believers-church-substantial-income-not-used-for-intended-purposes/
If diverting millions intended for various mission purposes to buy and start for profit businesses is ok with you then I guess it wouldn’t matter what else GFA does.
@warren “Nothing but faith in GFA”? Have I said anything that could be construed as “GFA is perfectly right in everything they say and to question them is wrong?” No, I’ve simply said that logically, it makes no sense that millions would be diverted and no attempt made to cover it up. Everything that I have seen posted so far has been from readily available information. Also, I said that I haven’t seen any evidence showing that KP and others are using these funds for their own gain. All of the things that one would typically associate with personal gain seem to be missing (houses, cars, private jets, etc). Of course I’m still wading through the court documents posted, so maybe there is something to it. I don’t know. What I don’t like is that so many people have decided that GFA/KP et al are this gigantic financial scandal. Looking at the situation logically; I just don’t see that I can make that judgement.
You don’t seem to be taking in account some facts.
1. ECFA’s board voted to terminate GFA’s membership. ECFA rarely does this. ECFA found GFA in violation of most of the ECFA standards. This only occurred after I brought these violations to light. Logical or not, ECFA found GFA had violated these standards despite the fact that the violations had been happening for years in broad daylight.
2. In contrast to your claim, GFA has tried to cover up the violations.
-For years, GFA claimed they should be exempt from the ECFA’s requirement to make their audit publicly available. This was changed when I began reporting discrepancies in the audit.
-GFA has removed web pages after I have referred to those pages in my posts. For instance, when I pointed out that K.P. Yohannan is on boards and trusts in India, in contrast to his claim to staff, GFA altered the web page which I referred to. Some webpages have been deleted altogether.
-GFA has threatened to sue Patheos and me over audio of staff meetings. I have caught them in deceptive statements made to staff and now they are threatening lawsuits if I don’t remove the audio which documents the deception. Logical or not, this is a fact.
-GFA first told staff that the $20 million dollars received to help complete their Wills Point HQ was from an “anonymous donor.” This story was even in the audit (material misinformation) when in fact the $20 million was a related party transaction. This related party transaction was not reported in the audit as it should have been. David Carroll told staff that the $20 million was not a related party transaction because K.P. Yohannan is not on the board of GFA and Believers’ Church in India, a claim that is blatantly false. Even though it is blatantly false, Carroll still made the claim. Logical or not, Carroll misled staff about the real nature of the transfer of $20 million of donor money from India to the U.S. I have documented that former board member, Gayle Erwin, said the board of directors was misled about the $20 million as well.
-K.P. Yohannan misled staff about ring kissing, Believers’ Church’s structure and practices, and his position in Believers’ Church. Yohannan has total legal control and sits on every board and trust. He told staff he is on board/trust and that he has no legal authority. Logical or not, that is fact.
-GFA misled its own board of directors about the amount of money sitting in Indian banks and the true nature of the $20 million transfer from India to the U.S.
-GFA’s auditor, Bland Garvey, has resigned in the wake of my reporting the false and misleading information contained in the 2013 audit. Logical or not, GFA provided Bland Garvey false information which eventually was discovered and reported.
-GFA continues to be silent in the face of repeated calls from donors and former donors to answer questions I and others have been raising. Even long term donors can’t get answers or the answers are misleading (e.g., Bruce Morrison, pastor from Canada and 20 year donor who was unable to get any answers about his own questions and investigation into GFA finances).
This is not a comprehensive list, just what I can think of without reviewing all my posts.
Using what seems logical to you, you are ignoring facts which are well documented. If you haven’t reviewed these posts, I recommend you do so.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/category/gospel-for-asia/
Warren, it seems like you are the man! (tongue in cheek) You take yourself way too seriously and give yourself way too much credit. You are a little man trying to be someone. To refer to yourself as a journalist–a real one–is an insult to journalists everywhere. And this coming from someone who never cared for GFAs way of of doing business and has never supported them with even 1 dollar. Get a job.
so…,
When you can’t address the charges, attack the messenger.
Good call.
So (what?)
How predictable. The ad homs roll out when there is nothing else.
@warren I have been following this situation for more than a year. Judging by the ECFA’s past responses, it really seems odd that GFA did not voluntarily leave before the investigation was completed. If past results are anything to go by, it would have been a minor issue at best. If things are really as dire as you imply, then surely it would have been wiser to resign?
One of the requirements of being part of the ECFA was that financial statements should be made available on written request. There is a difference between not wanting something posted online, and not releasing something at all.
Having experience with my own websites, sometimes you simply forget to update information. I would imagine in a large corporation, that problem would be compounded. Not excusing it, or assuming right or wrong, it just doesn’t seem like a smoking gun to me.
Takedown requests are typical in cases like this. You haven’t been sued and you’ve switched to files hosted elsewhere. I really don’t know why you’re so concerned.
I’ll answer more as I have time, but I’m not assuming GFA is totally right. I’m choosing to continue my research, and a lot of prayer for wisdom).
Elephant – Board members, especially those with a long history with GFA, don’t ordinarily resign for trivial reasons. Gayle Erwin came forward with his disclosure that he had been deceived by GFA leaders about the money returned from India for the Wills Point compound. Erwin took all of this seriously enough to resign. You seem to want to find reasons he shouldn’t have.
In any case, ECFA’s actions can’t really be explained away try as you might. Yes, normally, ECFA lets nonprofits off the hook. This time they didn’t. That is a very significant difference.
Elephant – You began by saying Jason and I were only including Kerala figures but you have been silent on that since I told you I checked all other states.
Do you have any information from GFA about where else they claim to have sent the funds? Please don’t let that drop. You made a big deal about it but have gone silent about it now.
I also provided a link to an Indian court finding that GFA misused funds. Have you researched that? A court in India found diversion of funds. Surely you don’t a way to explain that away do you?
.
@warren Board members resign for all sorts of reasons. Given the way things that have been happening lately, I can certainly see why the assumption is made that they all bailed for the same reason. With the exception of Gayle Erwin we don’t have any reasons for the other 2. Given other circumstances, like the other boards that Pastor Skip resigned from at the same time, there may be other factors at work here.
If you reread my post, I made no attempt to explain away the ECFA’s actions. I simply brought attention to GFAs action. Namely they didn’t resign (as other ministries have done) but allowed the investigation to be completed. That doesn’t sound like a smart idea if there was some massive financial cover-up.
I’ll continue to respond as I have time. (Also, I’m still wading through the court documents, I’m no lawyer, so it’s going to take some time)
Elephant – Kerala?
Warren – Laogan Isles?
Warren – Laogan Isles?