After settling a lawsuit in the U.S. with a $37 million payout, Gospel for Asia (GFA) is now facing a similar class-action lawsuit in Canada seeking damages for the “misuse of donor funds in excess of $100 million.”
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the plaintiff—Greg Zentner of Woodburn, Nova Scotia—alleges that the charity “civilly conspired to misrepresent the nature of donations collected.” He further charges that instead of GFA donations going to things like farm animals, drinking wells, and child and missionary sponsorships, funds are sitting in foreign bank accounts and reserve funds.
Zentner, who’s given thousands to GFA over the years, told CBC News that he learned of the alleged financial misconduct from his pastor, Bruce Morrison.
Morrison and 28 former GFA staff and board members participated in a recent CBC News investigation alleging rampant misuse of funds by GFA.
Morrison found that between 2007 and 2014, GFA reported to the Canada Revenue Agency that it had sent nearly $94 million to India. Yet financial records submitted to the Indian government reveal that GFA received no funds from Canada during those years.
“I suppose the . . . greatest thing that has impacted me is the denial that comes from Gospel for Asia that ‘we’ve done nothing wrong,’ when there is so much evidence to the contrary,” Morrison told CBC News.
Defending Gospel for Asia is spokesperson Johnnie Moore. Moore is founder of the KAIROS Company and sits on the executive committee of the National Association of Evangelicals and President Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Board. He’s also the PR agent heard on the “hot mic” recording with James MacDonald, laughing at jokes about putting child porn on computers and instructing MacDonald on how to manipulate the press.
Moore told CBC News that the charity is “misunderstood” and GFA never admitted guilt when agreeing to the $37 million settlement for the U.S. lawsuit.
To read the entire CBC News story, including information about GFA’s “$20 million ‘anonymous’ donation,” click here.
Also, for critical analysis of GFA’s response to the CBC News investigation, I recommend reading Warren Throckmorton’s post, “Johnnie Moore’s Gospel for Asia Evasive Maneuvers” and “I Don’t Believe Most of What Johnnie Moore Said in His CBC Interview About Gospel for Asia.”
6 Responses
I have been following Prof. Throckmortons blog since before he reported on the first of his over 100 posts on GFA. GFA has likely scammed people in this world out of over a billion dollars from all over the world. I have been reading through CS Lewis’ classic “Mere Christianity.” In there he mentions between major points that it would be unwise for donors to give anything to a charity without fully checking its legitimacy out first. I first read that book many years ago and had I only taken Lewis’ very wise advice, I would have not have sent my money down into a septic tank full of lies. Now GFA has settled out of court, because they had no case whatsoever. We donors have likely turned KP Yohannan into a Indian Billionaire with all the for-profit businesses he has built and bought for himself. He is set to make a killing off a regional airport off of funds he raised for other purposes, that he used to steal a land lease away from the Indian government. The first lawsuit has now spawned another one and may spawn others as there are other western countries that he has been bilking now for some time. From here on out, do not take anyones word for it when they come asking for donations. Do what I did not do before. Take CS at his word and check out first. If you cannot find proof that it is legitimate, then do not donate…
Lock Lorde was the big winner on the first lawsuit here in the U.S. They made millions in legal fees and their biggest contribution was prevailing in the efforts to have all of the discovery placed under a seal of confidentiality. If God is merciful, the Canadian courts will not allow such a sham to take place. They will do what the American courts should have done and hold GFA publicly accountable.
IF that happens, it is likely that criminal charges would follow. If not in the U.S, possibly in Canada. Although, if discovery is unsealed, even the super celebrity pastor friendly federal government would be hard pressed to turn a blind eye to what was done to over 100,000 donors.
That is my greatest hope for this case. While refunding the $100M is important, it’s not nearly as important as finally putting these financial fraudsters behind bars. Most of the donors have fixed or limited incomes. They gave sacrificially. Had KP Yohannan been selling $10,000 in shoddy roofing, he’d be in jail. But $500,000,000 in the name of Jesus? “See ya later, suckas! I’ve got a Premiere League soccer team to buy!”
I was part of the U.S.A. class action lawsuit. I have yet to receive a refund check after submitting paperwork via email and snail mail a year ago…
I received a check last year from the lawsuit. Not sure what has happened with your case.
The idea that not admitting to guilt in a settlement is any indication of a genuine lack of guilt is high comedy. That’s standard boilerplate. I never did a settlement without that language. Mr. Mootebknows this, of course. But he also knows that some uniformed people will be misled by his response. As a middle aged lawyer, that sounds to me a whole lot like a good old fashioned lie.
Thanks for this Julie. Julie, I am wondering if you considered doing investigative work on Paul Dhinakaran, an evangelist/businessman from india (who is not setteled with his family in either USA or Canada). Paul Dhinakaran runs Jesus Calls ministires and owns Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences. Recent raids from Indian government’s tax department on Paul Dhinakaran’s properties in India resulted in seizure of around 120 Crore (Indian rupees) and 4.5 kilograms of Gold.