A healthy dose of skepticism regarding Mark Driscoll, the Scottsdale mega-church pastor, and a little known insider transaction between his two non-profit entities. I'd love to know what you think:
Check it out here:
I believe I’ve found a story pertaining to a transaction between two non-profits owned by the same person, a pastor. I’ve taken care to collect as much evidence as possible, and I think I have a good story.
However, there are a lot of moving parts. There are multiple transaction which occurred over a number of years between two entities.
I know how busy editors are. It pains me to write an editor an email longer than maybe 100 words, if that. So I need some advice. How do I pitch a story that is inherently complex in a way that is concise, but still gets the point across?
Hello,
I know a pastor who runs a mega-church and his own separate "XYZ Ministries" 501c3 organization. I got curious one day and started looking at deeds and affidavits with his name on them at the county recorder's office (website).
I found that he used the church's money to purchase a piece of property for $900,000, all cash. Then, less than ten months later, he sells that property to his own, separate non-profit for $760,000 dollars, at a $160,000 loss to the church. The affidavit shows that he put $140,000 down, and worked out the rest with the church (himself) somehow.
I noticed that after selling the property to himself (his non-profit), he takes out a loan of $620,000 on the property from a large bank using that property as collateral, which you would think would go to him paying off what he owes on to his own church since its the exact difference between what the property went for and what he put down at the time of purchase.
However, there's no deed of full reconveyance to the church?
He sells the property three years later for $2 million dollars.
There's only one deed of full reconveyance from the bank from which he took out the loan, making it seem as though the church wasn't paid off in full, but the bank was. I can't find any public recording that shows the church was ever paid off what he (XYZ Ministries) owed the church (himself).
Additional information: This particular pastor is famous for financial misconduct. He set up his church so that there is no board of elders or oversight. On the Form 990 for his other non-profit, the board consists of his daughter and a separate insider (also a sketchy pastor).
Am I making this into something suspicious, or is it a suspicious transaction? Is selling a property own by a church for which you are the head pastor to a non-profit for which you're the head employee at $160,000 less than fair market value in the ballpark of private inurement?