The money laundering case left a Christian media network out of business and Olivet University owing $1.25 million.
Fifteen months after investigators uncovered a $35 million scheme involving the former publishers of Newsweek and The Christian Post, a Christian college, and a tech vendor, the accused parties have been convicted of money laundering, conspiracy, and fraud.
IBT Media’s former owner Etienne Uzac and Christian Media Corporation International’s former CEO William Anderson—who was also the CEO and publisher of its flagship site, The Christian Post—entered guilty pleas before the Manhattan district attorney last week.
Today, California-based Olivet University—represented by its president Tracy Davis—pleaded guilty to falsifying business records and engaging in conspiracy, and was fined $1.25 million, according to the DA’s press officer. Olivet’s board chair Andrew Lin, who was convicted of fraud, has been barred from leadership for the next two years.
While maintaining claims of their independence from each other, each of the entities and leaders has ties to controversial Korean pastor David Jang. Considered the “Second Coming Christ” by some followers, Jang’s expansive global network founded Olivet, The Christian Post, Christian Today, and the International Business Times, whose parent company bought Newsweek in 2013.
In the criminal scheme, as CT reported in 2018, the media companies and Olivet inflated their financial standing to secure $35 million in loans to purchase high-end computer servers. They instead obtained cheaper servers (or none at all) and used the loans for their own operations as well as transferring funds to each other, according to the Manhattan DA’s office.
The defendants pointed out that the loans they obtained were repaid in full—which ...
from Christianity Today Magazine https://ift.tt/39OK8su
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