8/24/2023 0 Comments Lds church finances leak![]() Mormon who left Wall St to work for charity blows whistle on what he says is his church's "clandestine hedge fund".The SEC launched its own Ensign Peak probe after the "Mormonleaks" report linked the church to the shell companies. It wasn't until 2021 that Nielsen heard from investigators, but they weren't from the IRS, they were from the U.S. Nielsen resigned in 2019 and filed a whistleblower complaint with the IRS alleging that Ensign Peak violated its tax-exempt status by moving money to for-profit businesses. "I knew in that moment that I was in the wrong place," Nielsen said. Nielsen said the investment firm called an emergency meeting at which the chief investment officer said that if Ensign Peak were to start reporting the securities in the firm's own name, it could cause problems. Those shell companies held billions of dollars in stocks and bonds, and were actually controlled by Ensign Peak. Bishop Christopher Waddell with Sharyn Alfonsiĭavid Nielsen told us his breaking point came in 2018, when a website called "Mormonleaks" linked church members to companies that only existed on paper, Nielsen said. The bishop said Nielsen didn't have a full picture of church finances. "I know there've been reports on approximates and that kind of thing, and that's as far as we can go right now." "That's something I can't share with you right now," he said. He declined to share the value of Ensign Peak's assets with 60 Minutes. Unlike other nonprofits, religious organizations do not have to fully disclose all financial information to the IRS. He declined to disclose details of the investments. Waddell said the money given to the mall project was an investment, on which the church was receiving returns. "The church actually owned Beneficial Life and fortunately the church had the resources to bail out Beneficial Life during the financial crisis, 2008, 2009," he said. ![]() "Look, I'm not an expert on charities, but I'd been around the block enough to know that charitable organizations can't bail out for-profit businesses and maintain their charitable status," Nielsen said.Ĭhristopher Waddell, one of three church bishops who oversee Ensign Peak, said David Nielsen's allegations are "flat-out wrong."
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