GFA Hamilton-based charity allegedly can’t account for over $90M in donations

From the Hamilton Spectator March 19 2016

A Canadian missionary organization based in Stoney Creek is facing allegations that nearly $94 million in charitable donations purportedly sent to India in the past eight years can't be properly accounted for by either the Indian or Canadian governments.

Gospel for Asia Canada's filings with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) show $93.5 million was transferred to India between 2007 and 2014, but Indian government documents show that no money from Canada was received by the charity's Indian affiliates during the same period.

Pat Emerick, the head of Gospel for Asia Canada, is now named as one of the defendants in a U.S. class- action lawsuit launched last month in Arkansas alleging the multinational Gospel for Asia charity, which is based in Texas, has engaged in racketeering and fraud.

Gospel for Asia was created and is controlled by K.P. Yohannan, who was born in the southern Indian state of Kerala and is now based in Wills Point, Texas, about 30 kilometres east of Dallas. Yohannan is also listed as the founder and president of the board of Gospel for Asia Canada.

Emerick also suggested that Morrison's accusations are "based upon conspiracy theories and do not reflect reality.”Believers Church, based in Kerala, boasts 2.6 million members in 10 countries. Yohannan is both the church's founder and spiritual leader.In that year alone, according to the lawsuit, nearly $38 million US was spent on administration and another $43 million US "went missing.”

Much of Gospel for Asia's international work is focused on Kerala and a significant part of the charity's stated mission is to help the Dalits, members of India's lowest caste.

In written responses to a lengthy list of questions submitted by The Spectator, Emerick strongly denied Gospel for Asia Canada is involved in any financial impropriety.

"This is entirely false, even absurd," Emerick stated. "For more than 30 years, this ministry ”” with its partners overseas ”” has provided humanitarian assistance and spiritual hope to millions upon millions of people."

Bruce Morrison, a Nova Scotia pastor whose church has raised money for Gospel for Asia for more than 20 years, has filed formal complaints about the charity with the CRA and the RCMP.

Morrison conducted a meticulous review of Indian financial documents filed by Gospel for Asia conducted with the help of an American auditor. He alleges that for some of the charitable categories cited by the organization, less than one per cent of money donated from developed countries was used for the stated intentions.

In a detailed 21-page financial analysis of Gospel for Asia prepared in November, Morrison alleges as much as $128 million US in worldwide donations over an eight-year period went "missing" in India.

Morrison also alleges Gospel for Asia's Indian branch and three related charitable affiliates in India showed $56 million US sitting in one Indian account as of March 2014, and another $152 million US reported as cash-at-hand in other Indian bank accounts.

"K.P. Yohannan has taken hundreds of millions of dollars from western donors and put a majority of those funds in expensive profit-generating properties in Kerala," Morrison claims in one of his reports, "and also let tens of millions of dollars accumulate in Indian banks, while continuing to beg for more on pretences that are simply not true."

Garry Cluley, a recently-ousted board member of Gospel for Asia Canada, has also filed a complaint with the CRA. Cluley alleges he was dumped from Gospel for Asia's board in December when he asked to see copies of documents that would show how the charity's donations were being governed and spent.

Morrison and Cluley, along with the U.S. lawsuit, allege Gospel for Asia, either directly or through Indian affiliates, has used its charitable donations to build an extensive for-profit corporate empire in India that includes a private hospital, private schools, a college, a rubber plantation that cost $19 million US to purchase, and even a professional soccer team based in Myanmar.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges Gospel for Asia spent $45 million US to build its new state-of-the-art headquarters in Texas, with nearly half of the money coming from donations that had originally gone to India and were then sent back to the U.S.

In its literature and on its website, Gospel for Asia pledges a guarantee to donors that "100% of what you give toward sponsorship goes to the field."

"I'm hopeful there will be a CRA investigation or a police investigation into Gospel for Asia," Morrison said in an interview with The Spectator. "I've given full disclosure to the police."

The RCMP declined to comment on Gospel for Asia Canada, which has its headquarters at 245 King St. E. in Stoney Creek, near Green Road.

"Generally, only in the event that an investigation results in the laying of criminal charges would the RCMP confirm its investigation, the nature of any charges laid and the identity of the individuals involved," said RCMP spokesperson Annie Delisle.

The Canada Revenue Agency also declined to comment on Gospel for Asia, citing confidentiality provisions in the Income Tax Act.

A spokesperson for the federal government's Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, based in North Bay, would only confirm it received a complaint from Morrison about Gospel for Asia. The centre ”” jointly managed by the RCMP, the Competition Bureau and the OPP ”” is the national repository for data and intelligence related to fraud.

Emerick stated he is not aware of any investigations by police or the CRA into Gospel for Asia Canada.

Emerick stated "all proper reporting has been done according to Indian law." He also stated "the ministry has complied with all Canadian law for charities, and funds sent to the field have been accounted for."

Emerick also suggested Morrison's accusations are "based upon conspiracy theories and do not ”” by any means ”” reflect reality."

Bequests, church offerings, cheques from individuals, donations in lieu of flowers following a death, appeals through its website ”” the money flows to Gospel for Asia in any number of ways.

In some cases, volunteers who have been touched by Gospel for Asia will visit church groups across the country and spread the word about the charity, asking the faithful to support the mission and its goal of helping India's poorest people.

On its website, for example, Gospel for Asia's "2015 Christmas Gift Catalog" lists a variety of items that can be purchased for a needy family with a donation ”” $460 for a water buffalo, $345 for a camel, $115 for a sewing machine and $1,400 for a so-called "Jesus Well."

In the fall of 2014, Bruce Morrison started having concerns about Gospel for Asia, based on some troubling stories he'd read from former staff members who have banded together and call themselves the Gospel for Asia Diaspora.

Morrison is the pastor of Christian Fellowship Church in New Glasgow, N.S., and for 20 years, he and his church had been raising money for Gospel for Asia.

He began investigating, then started sending a series of letters last year outlining his concerns to K.P. Yohannan and Gospel for Asia's boards in Canada and the U.S.

Yohannan indicated that Gospel for Asia Canada operates under a joint ministry agreement with the U.S. and German offices of the charity "to meet the requirements of the Canadian government."

In its most recent filing with the federal government, Gospel for Asia Canada reported $18 million in revenue for 2014 and that $16.2 million was sent to the charity's Indian branch. No money was sent to any other country.

According to the CRA's rules, there are two options if a charity wants to use donated money in another country.

One option is for the charity to conduct the charitable activities with its own staff, volunteers and resources.

The other option is to use an intermediary, such as a contractor, or through what's known as a joint ministry agreement with another organization.

In all of those cases, however, the Canadian charity is the one responsible for properly reporting how its money is used.

According to the CRA: "If a charity reports to the CRA that it has spent its resources on a certain program or activity outside of Canada, regardless of whether it is using its own staff (including volunteers, directors, or employees), or working through an intermediary (including agents or contractors), the charity must be able to validate that expenditure or allocation of resources.

"When using an intermediary, a charity must be able to provide evidence to distinguish its own resources and activities from the intermediary's, and that the charity is maintaining direction and control over them," CRA notes.

Indian law, meanwhile, requires charities to detail precisely where foreign contributions come from and precisely how the money is being used, in part because the Indian government is worried foreign charitable contributions could be used as a cover to fund political activities. Even the interest earned on foreign contributions sitting in Indian bank accounts has to be used for charitable purposes.

Gospel for Asia's other Indian affiliates include the Believers Church, Last Hour Ministries and Love India Ministry.

Believers Church, based in Kerala, boasts 2.6 million members in 10 countries. Yohannan is the church's founder and spiritual leader.

For the eight years between 2007 and 2014, documents filed with the Indian government and available online for Gospel for Asia India and its three affiliates show no money received from Canada.

That information didn't sit well with Warren Throckmorton, a college psychology professor based in Grove City, Pa., who has written extensively about Christian issues and large American megachurches.

For the past year or so, like Morrison, Throckmorton has also conducted his own investigation of Gospel for Asia and its affiliates.

Both Morrison and Throckmorton were told by Gospel for Asia officials that the charity's Canadian donation amounts had been lumped in with the U.S. donations sent to India, which is why they don't show up in the Indian government filings.

"That seemed way off," said Throckmorton. "By that time, I'd read enough of your law to know that didn't sound right."

Meanwhile, Gospel for Asia officials in the U.S. told an American evangelical financial accountability group last summer the charity didn't exert any control over its Indian affiliates and how they spend the money.

Taken together, it means Canadian donations were lumped in with the American donations sent to India but the American charity didn't exercise any control over the Indian affiliates receiving the money.

This would appear to be in violation of the CRA's rules that state the Canadian charity must maintain control and direction of its donations and be able to account for how they have been spent, even when done through an intermediary.

"I don't know why the Canadian government hasn't moved on this," Throckmorton said. "That's probably the biggest scandalous aspect of this that I can think of.

In a written response, Emerick stated that all donations have been properly accounted for by all the various international components of Gospel for Asia.

He also denied that Canadian donations have been lumped in with American donations.

"There has been no mingling of funds and field partners can absolutely account for the originating source of all deposits," Emerick stated.

"All funds sent to the field have been accounted for separately in annual reports to the respective international boards as well as according to national accounting standards in the receiving countries," Emerick stated.

Morrison estimates there are about 10,000 Canadian donors to Gospel for Asia.

"Some of them are on very fixed incomes and they believe they're doing a great thing by contributing to Gospel for Asia," he said.

"They're responding to the appeals that come, assuming the gifts they give will be spent on those appeals.

"They just don't know the difference," Morrison said. "And if there's an ever an institution that you should be able to trust, it should be the Christian church."

Garry Cluley certainly recognizes the irony of the situation.

For two years, he was one of the board members for Gospel for Asia Canada, a volunteer position with no remuneration.

He's also a retired RCMP officer who worked in security and intelligence.

Last summer, Cluley attended a Gospel for Asia meeting where there was a discussion about the allegations of financial improprieties that had begun to circulate in online Christian forums.

"It blew me out of the water," said Cluley, who lives in Durham, south of Owen Sound.

Cluley was told Gospel for Asia Canada's donations were covered by a joint ministry agreement, as mandated by the CRA, and that some audits had been done as well.

"Great, let's establish that fact," Cluley remembers saying at the time. "And if there were problems, let's resolve them."

So he asked Pat Emerick for a copy of the joint ministry agreement and the audits.

"I clearly expressed that while I was interested in the information, I wasn't trying ”” to put it in the vernacular ”” to screw Gospel for Asia in any way," Cluley said.

There was no response from Emerick, Cluley said.

On Dec. 8, Cluley again asked for the agreement and the audits.

"Pat's response to me was that there was no problem getting them," Cluley said.

The next morning, Cluley said, he received a memorandum terminating his position on the board.

"When I got this letter, my thought was how stupid are you to send this kind of a letter to me and terminate me one day after I was asking to see the correspondence?" Cluley said.

"It's the dumbest thing they could have done, especially since I was very, very clear that I was not out to hang the organization out to dry."

Emerick said in a written response that Cluley was not dismissed.

"Mr. Cluley's term on the board expired," Emerick stated.

Cluley said he was flabbergasted to hear allegations that Gospel for Asia had $56 million US in one Indian account and more than $150 million US in other Indian accounts.

"And yet there were these soliciting emails 'It's urgent, we need your support' blah blah blah, when this amount of money was sitting there," said Cluley. "It's just crazy.

"I'm totally disillusioned."

On Feb. 8, Matthew and Jennifer Dickson of Rogers, Arkansas, were named as the lead plaintiffs in a U.S. class-action lawsuit launched against Gospel for Asia.

They were donors to the charity who now allege they've been duped.

Also named as defendants are K.P. Yohannan, his spouse, his son, the charity's CFO and Emerick, the Canadian head.

"Soliciting charitable donations to benefit the poorest of the poor while covertly diverting the money to a multi-million-dollar personal empire is reprehensible," the opening statement in the lawsuit reads.

"Using a Christian organization as a front to attract and exploit the goodwill and generosity of devout Christians is a particularly vile scheme," it continues.

"But that is exactly what K.P. Yohannan and the organization he controls ”” Gospel for Asia Inc. ”” have been getting away with for years."

None of the lawsuit's allegations have been proven in court.

Gospel for Asia and the other defendants have been given an extension to April 15 to file their responses to the lawsuit.

"Gospel for Asia intends to vigorously and fully defend itself against these false accusations," Emerick stated in a written response. "The defendants are not guilty of the accusations being levelled against them.

"You can rest assured that in the meantime the organization will continue serving some of the world's most desperate people in some of its most complex environments," Emerick stated. "We hope our friends will pray for us, for these challenges are certainly also challenges and distractions to our mission."

The lawsuit alleges Gospel for Asia raised $450 million US between 2007 and 2013 in the U.S. alone.

"However, despite repeated, explicit guarantees from GFA to donors, only a fraction of the donated money supports the people and causes for which it was donated," the lawsuit alleges.

Gospel for Asia's various appeals usually include a "100% Guarantee," accompanied with a red stamp of approval, meant to signify that 100 per cent of donations "go to the field," according to the lawsuit's claims.

Gospel for Asia's website states: "Since the ministry began, we have sent 100 per cent of what you give toward sponsoring a missionary or a child to the field."

Instead, the lawsuit claims, less than 13 per cent of the $115 million US in donations collected worldwide by Gospel for Asia in 2013 for its Indian mission was spent on the intended causes.

In that year alone, according to the lawsuit, nearly $38 million US was spent on administration and another $43 million US "went missing."

In one example, the lawsuit alleges that between 2010 and 2013, Gospel for Asia collected $4.2 million US to support widows and abandoned children.

During that time, the lawsuit alleges, documents filed with the Indian government show Gospel for Asia spent $31,265 for the welfare of widows and $0 for the welfare of orphans, less than one per cent of the intended donations.

In a written response, Emerick stated Gospel for Asia "has indeed sent 100 per cent of field designated funds for the purposes intended."

The lawsuit lists a number of for-profit enterprises that have allegedly been either purchased or built by Gospel for Asia and its three Indian affiliates, including:

Caarmel Engineering College in Kerala.

The 500-bed, for-profit Believers Church Medical College Hospital in Kerala.

Six for-profit primary schools in Kerala.

A 900-hectare rubber plantation in Kerala.

A professional soccer team in the Myanmar National League.

In a written response, Emerick called the allegations "ludicrous, absurd and totally false."

"Any ministries operated by Gospel for Asia's local partners ”” such as hospitals or schools ”” that have net revenue use that revenue for charitable work exclusively," Emerick stated. "There has been zero diversion of funds in order to personally enrich anyone."

The lawsuit also alleges, somewhat ironically, that a $20-million anonymous donation reported by the American Gospel for Asia to help build the new Texas headquarters was actually a transfer of money from Gospel for Asia India back to the U.S.

"They've been telling the donors they're going to save the Dalits, the lower caste members," said Throckmorton.

"Then you find out it's been spent on a hospital that's like the Mayo Clinic that people pay to use."

"They tell American donors and worldwide donors 100 per cent goes to the field, 100 per cent is spent on saving souls and poor people," said Throckmorton. "About 14 per cent does.

"When you tell people 'I'm going to take your dollar and do this with it' and then you take it and spend 14 cents on the dollar to do something like that, most people would say 'Well, all right, I suppose schools are a good thing and health care's good.'

"But they're missing the point," said Throckmorton. "They've been lied to."

In a written response, Emerick called the accusations "just ludicrous, entirely false."

Virginia Wilkins was once a believer. Not any more though.

About nine years ago, K.P. Yohannan came to her Hamilton church to talk about Gospel for Asia.

"I was impressed because of the 100 per cent guarantee, that all of the money went to the field," said Wilkins. "It's the only ministry that claims that and I believed them.

"They even said they spent nothing on salaries for their people," Wilkins added. Employees, she said, were required to raise their own support to cover salaries and benefits.

She was hooked.

Wilkins was such a believer that she became a volunteer for the charity, spending three days a week in the Stoney Creek headquarters, trying to convince bookstores across the country to give away copies of books written by Yohannan.

Then she, too, began reading the concerns raised by the Gospel for Asia Diaspora and they struck a nerve with her.

She raised her own concerns and got no answers. Then she discovered that some of the employees at the Stoney Creek office "had never raised a penny of support."

Emerick said in a written response that Gospel for Asia's missionaries and staff try to raise their own support to minimize expenses to the charity.

"When staff or missionaries are not able to raise their support, their support is sometimes subsidized through other fundraising," Emerick stated. "Legally, it is also reported as compensation in certain circumstances."

Gospel for Asia Canada's CRA filings for 2014 show $650,000 was spent on employment income.

Wilkins took a leave of absence from the charity in October 2014. Then came the last straw for her ”“ the serious allegations that started trickling out from Morrison and Throckmorton last year.

"Betrayal is the word," said Wilkins. "And vindicated in one sense. Now we had an explanation.

"In a way it was a relief to know the truth, because the Bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

"It hasn't shaken my faith in God one bit," said Wilkins. "He is still in control.

"Why He's allowed this to go on for so long, some day we'll see the answer," she concluded. "I'm just glad the truth is out there."

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6397796-hamilton-based-charity-allegedly-can-t-account-for-over-90m-in-donations/

From revs quote. This is incredible theft and deception worthy of criminal prosecution. No wonder the world mocks
most TV preachers and para church organizations.

"Bruce Morrison, a Nova Scotia pastor whose church has raised money for Gospel for Asia for more than 20 years, has filed formal complaints about the charity with the CRA and the RCMP.

Morrison conducted a meticulous review of Indian financial documents filed by Gospel for Asia conducted with the help of an American auditor. He alleges that for some of the charitable categories cited by the organization, less than one per cent of money donated from developed countries was used for the stated intentions.

In a detailed 21-page financial analysis of Gospel for Asia prepared in November, Morrison alleges as much as $128 million US in worldwide donations over an eight-year period went "missing" in India."

And why exactly was Gospel for Asia dropped from the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountabikity???

Hmmm. As we say in Arkansas. Something smells rotten in the woodshed.

Brother Blaine

Blaine, genuine christians suffer as a result on the actions of these GFA types.
The gospel is hindered, ridiculed and mocked because of the greed, hypocrisy and avarice of these so called men of God when it turns out that they are just as corrupt as than those who do not claim the almighty.

So sad Carmen. But many good ministries have subcomed to greed. And the gospel has been hindered. And lives been ruoned. More tragically. The name of God has been blaspheming among the Gentiles.

Simply my thoughts.

Brother Blaine

From the Toronto Star today March 20 2016 (Canada's largest newspaper)

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/03/20/gospel-for-asia-charity-facing-allegations-of-fraud-totalling-nearly-94-million.html

I'm surprised how many people take allegations and turn them into facts in their minds. The Internet has a funny way of changing a man...in much the same way gossip can change us. Surely the defendants in this lawsuit have a right to a fair trial? I have no dog in this fight and do not know anything about GFA or KP...simply cautioning against doing what the world does, which is to "pile on" and then become the judge, jury and executioner. Not saying anyone here is doing that but let's be careful from going down that road.

If we think speaking out against the wrongdoings of a major Christian preacher, author, televangelist, etc. is wrong, please consider that we aren't doing Christ any favors by letting these people run around unchecked.
Especially when the evidence clearly indicates criminal
fraud and embezzlement that cannot be refuted such as GFA is
engaged in.

Someone said
"Why is it so hard for Christians to hear anything "negative" about their superstars? Why do we automatically assume its the "world" or the devil persecuting us? It's like as soon as we are assimilated into the Christian culture, we turn off our critical thinking and decide what to believe based on whose mouth it comes out of.If a preacher says it, we believe it. If a non-Christian or (gasp!) the liberal media says it, then it is a lie.

How about listening to both sides of the story, gathering the FACTS, applying some logic and critical thinking and then making your decision?

I think sometimes we are afraid to be honest about whats going on in the lives of our Christian superstars because we are afraid it will somehow tarnish God's name and reputation among unbelievers. Well, it tarnishes His reputation more when we look the other way as gross misconduct, apparent even to non-believers, goes on at the highest levels of Christian leadership unchecked! It makes us a joke.

This isn't about perfection. It's about HONESTY. Christian leaders who claim to be one thing while cheating on their spouses, living in mansions, embezzling from their ministry and abusing their followers do nothing except muddy the name of Christ."

Notdarkyet,
I am advising that until someone is personally privy to the facts themselves all they know about a man or a ministry is heresay. If the leader of a ministry says that the allegations against them are wrong and ludicrous, well now you have two christian brothers at odds with one another. It is unwise for the rest of us to stand on the sidelines and cast judgement either way unless we are personably privy to the facts. Brother A says brother B is doing something wrong and brother B says he is not. It is not brother C through Zs business to begin with and unless brother C has inside and direct knowledge of the matter, it is all heresay and conjecture and best left to the courts to decide.

Unless of course you hear about these allegations on Facebook, or an Internet forum...then naturally they are no longer allegations but pure and undefiled truth:-)

How about the Holy Spirit awakened? Is his discernment okay with you?
I knew years ago about this and also numerous other believers.

How about the Holy Spirit? So if you say that the Holy Spirit told you something about another believer then that makes it true and everyone else should believe it as fact? If the Spirit tells you something about someone that doesn't give you a license to publically slander them. I'm not saying you are not right I am saying that why must this be plastered all over the internet based on someone's discernment? What if your discernment is wrong? Could you possibly ever be wrong? What about the persons reputation that you have wronged in the process. If you have discernment about somebody and have no clear and undeniable facts and then go public, then it is gossip. Even if it is true it is still gossip. I'm not saying that there is no truth about any of these allegations I am just cautioning people to be careful about judging a man or a ministry until the facts are known. I would have thought that this is common sense to this forum?

do you work for them awakened?

Is that your discernment kicking in Carmine?

"According to GFA’s project giving reports for 2011-2013, donors have given $284,528 designated for leprosy ministry. However, only $36,600 has been reported on Indian government forms as being received in India during the same period. On the FC-6 form, a specific line item exists for reporting foreign donations given to assist with leprosy treatment and outreach. Only about 13% of gifts designated by donors to GFA in the United States was reported as received by GFA’s field partners in India.
Due to giving in prior years, GFA had amassed a balance of nearly $400,000 in an account to help leprosy treatment as of March 31, 2014."

No but I knew that this is how you would respond and so yes Is the actual answer

I give up. Perhaps someone else can take my words and make better English out of them. For the record I do not work for GFA have never visited them or met KP or know him at all and never even listened to him speak. I do however believe that anyone, no matter who they are, has a right to a fair trial. And just in case all common sense has been lost in this looney country, just because someone is subject to a lawsuit; does not mean they are guilty. They may or they may not be. Let the courts figure that out...that's all I am saying.

Mark

I asked you the question about working for them not because I believed you work for them but I knew you would make the comment about my discernment in response.

But this guy and his henchmen are criminals anyway and worse than most regular crooks, An honest crook is always better than a religious one who steals from orphans and widows under the guise of pretending to be helping them.
Ananias and Sapphira have nothing on him.

My dear sister Carmine,
Since you already know what I am going to say before I answer, and I am helpless against your mind powers I will let you answer on my behalf for the rest of this thread:-)

Have a wonderful evening madam, it has truly been a pleasure!

John,
I'll try again to make my point. Everything you and others are citing are either the lawsuit, Internet forum writings or news reports about the case.

These allegations have been refuted as false and even ludicrous by the head of GFA in Canada...so KP has been confronted and he (via his Canadian proxy) has answered.

They are calling this false and ludicrous.

So is it? How would we know...we are third parties and have no possible way to verify the claims of either the plaintiff or the defendant.

If anyone claims to have private and exclusive information and chooses to share that with others then that is gossip and sinful to do so. They need to repent and quit doing that.

Allegations have been made and a judge will examine the evidence. The rest of us need to pray for KP and the many others caught up in this mess. In spite of any alleged wrong doings there are millions of people who have come to know the Lord through this ministry and we must pray for them too in the midst of this.

Steve,
I am sorry to say this but find your post one of the more disingenuous on this entire thread. You signed up it would seem to make your first post ever on SI about this situation.

Hmmmm.

You then state that the allegations are truthful because if they were not truthful then they would be slander. Huh? That makes no sense at all. The allegations are that GFA has committed fraud. That is a very serious crime and when these things are leveled at people and or ministries there doesn't have to be truth any truth involved to file suit...that is up to the courts to decide. I am not a lawyer and do not know how Canadian law works but a class action lawsuit means nothing until it goes to trial I believe? Has there even been a hearing yet?

For you to state that these allegations are truthful and then in the very next breath tell everyone that talking about this online is not edifying the body of Christ??? And you just finished telling the body of Christ that the allegations of charges leveled at a ministry are true on a public forum...in your very first post???

I rest my case.

Mark, I am no madam and you still do not know what I was saying about the crooks at GFA "leadership"

The documented published evidence in black and white documents regarding GFA's fraudulent use and misuse of donors funds meet RICO's standard for criminal prosecution no matter how much you try to spin it.
Their denials are simple nonsensical doublespeak saying absolutely nothing.

It would be better if you stop defending these criminals and let it go.

....considering this wickedness, I have nothing to say, I will let Rev Ian Paisley, who is now with the Lord, speak the Words of the Lord in this foundational sermon entitled,

"Fundamentalism Versus Apostasy"
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=6863

my personal take is, that it is high time we brought back the "scourge, the stocks, and a bucket of brinewater" to enforce a little church discipline!

Carmine,
To call men of God crooks and all kinds of other names is wrong. Let the courts handle this, until then we need to keep our judgements to ourselves.

For the record I have not defended GFA once for any of their alleged wrong doings. To allege that I am defending them only serves to cast aspersions on my character. This is fast turning into a nasty little thread.

I have defended the Word of God though and that seems to burn your biscuits. So I will keep doing that until the message is clear. Gods Word tells us to avoid gossip and slander and other such mudslinging. Why? Because firstly, it does not glorify God when we do this and secondly we do not yet know what the facts are and we have not heard both sides of the issue...so to rush to judgement is unwise and not in keeping with the Spirit of the Lord.

Between 2007 and 2013, GFA solicited over $450,000,000 in donations from the United States alone, where the majority of GFA’s donors reside.

However, despite repeated, explicit guarantees from GFA to donors, only a fraction of the donated money supports the people and causes for which it was donated

While the organization is recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity and a "religious order” in the U.S. by the Internal Revenue Service and is therefore not required to publish its financial statements, it enjoys no such exemption in India.

As a foreign charity in India, GFA is required to publicly account for all funds it spends in the country, pursuant to the Indian Foreign Contribution Regulation Act of 2010.

A financial analysis of the reports submitted to the Indian Government ("FC-6 forms”) for Believers Church, Gospel for Asia-India, and the related limited liability companies Last Hour Ministries and Love India Ministries, shows, according to the lawsuit, just how little of the money GFA sends to India is actually spent on the projects and items U.S. donors designated

During our visit on June 3, ECFA was informed that GFA field partner cash reserves were approximately $7 million,” said a letter signed by John C. Van Drunen, executive vice president of the ECFA.

After ECFA requested detailed documentation of cash balances held by foreign field offices, on June 29, we discovered that GFA’s field partners had $259,437,098 on hand at March 31, 2014 and approximately $186 million in June 2015,” the letter noted.

Carmine,
That letter from ECFA is the basis (at least in part) for why GFA had their membership revoked. They had a lot of cash in their accounts in India and their bookkeeping is at best shoddy. I don't think anyone would deny that this letter exists and these shoddy practices are not in fact real. But these revelations are not in and of themselves fraud, which the lawsuit is alleging. Also, just because a ministry has excess funds in their bank account does not automatically mean that anyone is embezzling those funds. But if they are, I pray that they will be found out.

Let's allow the lawsuit to play out and we shall see what comes of it.

I agree with you and others that any organization that has hundreds of millions in cash reserves is leaving themselves wide open for a lot of finger pointing against them, but GFA states that this is how they run their operation and there is no fraud being committed.

I personally do not know. I have no idea as to the truth and need to wait and see. My prayer is that everything that is being hidden will come to light and that all wrong doings (if any are found) will be exposed all and the perpetrators brought to justice.

In the meantime I wonder if Sermon Index could shed some light on all of this? Since there are so many sermons listed here from KP, would KP be interested in releasing a statement to SI and the body of Christ in general?

Also something that I did not mean to gloss over but is worth bringing up again. What is being stated as fact by former board members is that $20million earmarked for helping the poor and spreading the Gospel in India was transferred back to GFA in the US and used to finish their headquarters.

If this is true then that is wrong in my eyes, but I am sure happens all the time in the form of loans with these ministries and even churches. It appears that this "departmental" transfer was kept hidden from the board of directors and some of them resigned over this...don't blame them one bit. But those who were in the know probably justified this as necessary to handle the growth of the ministry. Again, I am not defending them but this transfer of funds does not necessarily constitute fraud or show that any of the directors or the founder benefited from these transactions. At best it is highly unethical and is grounds for severe discipline within the body of Christ...but who will stand up to them? Hopefully Francis Chan might have something to say to this down the road? We can call their financial practices unethical and sloppy but lets be careful to not call it criminal until the dust clears.

That letter from ECFA is the basis (at least in part) for why GFA had their membership revoked. They had a lot of cash in their accounts in India and their bookkeeping is at best shoddy. I don't think anyone would deny that this letter exists and these shoddy practices are not in fact real. But these revelations are not in and of themselves fraud, which the lawsuit is alleging. Also, just because a ministry has excess funds in their bank account does not automatically mean that anyone is embezzling those funds. But if they are, I pray that they will be found out.

I believe this is a good estimation from brother Mark towards this situation. There are alot of allegations and "some" evidence but things still are not revealed fully. There is a lawsuit so that might bring to light anything that is wrong. Our official stance is that we are not promoting active giving to Gospel for Asia right now and are praying for the Holy Spirit to help leaders of GFA as well as helping expose anything wrong so changes can be made. Praying for KP Yohannan himself is a good thing to do. We all make mistakes in many ways and the problem is this organization is so big that a mistake is something big also.

To call people frauds, liars and other things and direct this to GFA or brother KP is wrong and there is not clear evidence of such sins and lifestyle. All things will ultimately be manifest at the judgment seat of Christ. Let us pray for the body of Christ that God will give continually repentance to brothers including ourselves and we would all finish well in our lives and ministries towards the Lord.

We have no interest to continue to cater to "every" speculation and accusation on SermonIndex, therefore have been asking saints not to repeat every post from bloggers and others who are raising objections anywhere they can.

"not to repeat every post from bloggers and others who are raising objections anywhere they can."

The Toronto Star and Hamilton Spectator are blogs?

Greg
why don't you simply lock this thread?
It is pointless to reason with certain people.
If members see it as their ministry to bring this up all the time they should start their own website, put their own time and resources into it, it is not fair to use your site. It would be even better if those who feel so strongly about or against GFA would seek the Lord and say to the Lord: "here I am send me..." and step out and "go into all the world " themselves, make all those sacrifices themselves. We could then support them, maybe join them and advance the Gospel.

Our own countries and cities are on the way to hell, because WE Failed to evangelise them, this should be our primary concern, it should make us weep and seek the Lord

The Lord took care of Ananias and Sapphira and we should all know that the Judge over all the earth will do right.

"Your Kingdom come...! "

Edit

Sorry, the comment was not entirely fair, Greg has allowed some leeway regarding GFA's nefarious behaviour. I also was taken in by Jimmy Swaggart many years ago for a season.

Not only should this thread be locked but these kinds of posts should not have been allowed on SI in the first place. I am not sure if this thread contravenes rule 7 of the SI guidelines but if not, should rule 7 be updated/tightened? Slander and gossip is a very serious sin and there should not even be a hint of this in our lives as believers.

7. SLANDERING OTHERS - We have a zero tolerance on slander, evil-speaking and speaking against a person's character without warrant. 'Slander no one.' / 'to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.' NASB (Titus 3:2). This is a very important biblical principle and we ask that you would especially respect the biblical method of approaching a brother privately (Matthew 18:15). Also there are hundreds of websites in the internet that exclusively post wrong teachings, errors and question the character of Christians, we do not want SermonIndex to be seen as such a ministry and ask that all forum members do not participate in posting in what is wrong. We believe simply that truth dispels errors and to focus on the truth will shine a light into all the darkness.

I believe this is a good estimation from brother Mark towards this situation. There are alot of allegations and "some" evidence but things still are not revealed fully. There is a lawsuit so that might bring to light anything that is wrong. Our official stance is that we are not promoting active giving to Gospel for Asia right now and are praying for the Holy Spirit to help leaders of GFA as well as helping expose anything wrong so changes can be made. Praying for KP Yohannan himself is a good thing to do. We all make mistakes in many ways and the problem is this organization is so big that a mistake is something big also.

To call people frauds, liars and other things and direct this to GFA or brother KP is wrong and there is not clear evidence of such sins and lifestyle. All things will ultimately be manifest at the judgment seat of Christ. Let us pray for the body of Christ that God will give continually repentance to brothers including ourselves and we would all finish well in our lives and ministries towards the Lord.

We have no interest to continue to cater to "every" speculation and accusation on SermonIndex, therefore have been asking saints not to repeat every post from bloggers and others who are raising objections anywhere they can.

I hope our stance is quite clear and it has been mentioned to saints that we are not encouraging or want on the forums repeated posts of this nature. Thank you saints.

This thread is locked.