Mormon Church Stockpiled $100 Billion Intended for Charities and Misled LDS Members, Whistleblower Says – By Paul Glader (Newsweek) / Dec 17 2019
A whistleblower complaint filed at the Internal Revenue Service in November by a knowledgeable church member alleges that a non-profit supporting organization controlled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used member tithes to amass more than $100 billion in a set of investment funds and the Church misled members about uses of the money.
The complaint may be the most important look at LDS finances in decades, a window into one of the wealthiest religious organizations in the United States and the world. Details of the IRS filing reveal financial assets largely hidden from the church’s membership (often known as “Mormons”) and the public view.
Spires of the LDS temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. Did the Mormon Church stockpile billions of dollars meant for charity, misleading church members about how their donations were used?
George Frey/Getty
The 74-page document filed with the IRS and obtained by Religion Unplugged shows that Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. (EPA) owned assets under management grew to more than $100 billion from $10 billion in the past 22 years, fueled by a mix of investment strategy and tithe money from church members.
Religion Unplugged reached EPA’s managing director Roger Clarke by phone on Monday, offering to explain key parts of this story and to ask questions for EPA to give a response. “We don’t really answer questions with the public press. So thanks,” he said, before hanging up the phone.
Ensign Peak Advisors’ articles of incorporation confirm Ensign Peak is an arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As registered under section 509(a)3 of the Internal Revenue Code, Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. (EPA) is a “supporting organization” of the Church under article 3 in its registration document. Upon dissolution, all Ensign Peak assets go the Church or affiliated organizations according to article 5 and that article cannot be changed without “the written consent of The First Presidency” of the Church. Because Ensign Peak Advisers is a support organization to a church it is not subject to disclosure requirements that other non-profit organizations are required to make.
A former Church member in Minnesota named Lars Nielsen published a 74-page document filed with the IRS that makes several allegations. The filing also included several internal EPA documents including an EPA Policy book, an EPA master plan, an EPA New Staff Orientation Guide, statements of financial condition and data downloads and analysis of the firm’s investment portfolio. One presentation slide in the document from March of 2013 is labeled “New Staff Orientation Deck” and shows a Church investment governance structure including a “Council on Disposition of Tithes” that allocates funds from tithes to holding organizations in the church such as EPA.
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