In court documents filed today, Gospel for Asia settled with plaintiffs Garland and Phyllis Murphy by agreeing to set aside $37-million in a Settlement Fund to provide relief for donors as well as cover court costs and attorneys’ fees. GFA also agreed to have Dr. Murphy join the board of the organization. Murphy and GFA will also work together to designate a replacement for K.P. Yohannan’s wife who will go off of the GFA board. GFA also agreed not to appoint any other relative of Yohannan to the board.
GFA also agreed to create a board subcommittee which shall not include Yohannan in order to provide oversight for the organization’s compliance with the settlement. The mission organization also agreed to comply with Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability guidelines and seek readmission to membership.
Read the Settlement
GFA continued to deny wrongdoing but nonetheless agreed to establish a stunning settlement fund of $37-million. GFA will raise the $37-million as follows:
GFA-USA will fund the Settlement Fund as follows: (a) within thirty (30) Days following entry of the Preliminary Approval Order, GFA-USA will transfer $26,000,000 to the Settlement Administrator (via wire instructions provided by the Settlement Administrator to GFA-USA) to an interest-bearing escrow account; and (b) GFA-USA will raise $11,000,000 within twelve (12) months of the date of the entry of the Final Approval Order, which will be transferred to the Settlement Administrator (via wire instructions provided by the Settlement Administrator to GFA-USA) to an interest-bearing escrow account, on or before the end of the twelfth month after the Agreement is executed.
GFA Headquarters Will Be Held as Security
GFA may try to raise funds to pay donors via new donors. In order to make sure the funds are paid to the class members, the headquarters will be held in a deed of trust. GFA has to come up with the money since the main campus is on the line. From the settlement:
To the extent the funds to be raised under Section 4.2.2(b) are raised through donations, they shall be raised through solicitations for general ministry purposes. To secure the obligation of GFA-USA to fund the additional $11,000,000 to the Settlement Administrator, GFA-USA shall grant a deed of trust lien for the benefit of the Settlement Administrator against the GFA-USA campus, such deed of trust to be in the form attached hereto as Exhibit G (the “Deed of Trust”). At such time as the $11,000,000 is transferred to the Settlement Administrator pursuant to Section 4.2.2(c), the Deed of Trust shall be released.
This is a stunning outcome and should be a warning to all nonprofit organizations, especially megachurches. Donors are watching and want to know where those funds are going. GFA is spinning this already on their website but this is a staggering blow to an organization and group of defendants which once bragged that they were above reproach.
I will have more coverage of the settlement over the next few days.
I donated to GFA for almost 30 years but no longer do so. Can any one recommend a good reputable ministry that is truly focused on missions and evangelism in South Asia and in India in particular?
You might want to think deeper about what you are asking and to whom your asking it of. You are asking a bunch of more or less anonymous people that you do not know if anyone knows any org. that has middle men who are trustworthy. How do you know that you can trust any of us? KP’s former right hand man could come on here and tell you to give to His SIM ministry when he is just as corrupt as KP. How do you know whom you can trust?
Voice of the Martyrs is a scam with child molesters for leaders I also once gave to. Guess who introduced it to me? My best friend. He is normally trust worthy, but not in this case. He helped me get deceived, because he was. I introduced two of the GFA diaspora members to GFA many years ago. I ended up doing the same thing to them because I was deceived. The reality is that no one but the Holy Spirit can answer the question you are asking reliably. I no longer give out recommendations and that is my repentance for my sin of helping to lead my friends astray. I suggest you ask the Holy Spirit your question. If your relationship with the H.S. is such that you cannot hear a clear answer, then you have a much bigger problem to solve. (See my comment in the most recent GFA post about Charity <> Mammon.)
“Voice of the Martyrs is a scam with child molesters for leaders” Beg to differ, only “one” whom you mention, not plural! Even he, who did such evil took his own life over it. It is nothing to make lite of. Men are capable of ANYTHING evil. As far as the Ministry, VOM, it is still a solid ministry. Word of caution, be careful where and how you through stones, they might bounce back and hit you in the head. Friendly advice.
Jesus Christ told us to be shrewd as serpents. I was not when I moved to Bartlesville, OK and then volunteered hundreds of hours and worked there for three months. My story can be found here: https://thouarttheman.org/2017/05/21/personal-testimony-regarding-volunteering-working-vom/
And the opinion of them now being a scam is not my own. The founders son in his last public statement after being fired for simply asking the board to investigate how many children this one man–Tom White–had molested overseas with donor money called them a scam. Google Michael Wurmbrand and see it yourself. Also there is more than one man. You can google President Isaac of the Nigerian VOM branch and see he is accused by multiple people of molesting many girls with money that was given through the US office. Tom White was a child molester who put together an international network of other VOM’s. What kind of network would a child molester build? Is it a coincidence that he helped another child molester start a VOM ministry? Also, Michael points out that one of VOM-USA’s VP’s is a convicted felon for embezzlement. What kind of people would want this mans deception skills on-board in a high position of authority? Please give proof that they have, since Tom took over, done any good anywhere? The only public facts known about them is that child molesters have been at the highest positions of power in the org. Please back up your claims with something substantial. I have…
Thank you for your reply. I have followed the links you left and plus more concerning VOM. I could only find two (2) INCIDENCES involving sexual impurity. One is enough for me, Our LORD knows, He will deal with those who bring trouble to His body. I was more concerned about the misuse of money and ostracism of Michael. All three are really evidences of loving and the corruptness of loving money, so sad. This will be another so called Corporate Christian Organization we will leave alone. I have a very heavy heart esp after GFA’s fall. Thank you for pointing this out to us, so sad.
It seems deeply problematic to me that 11 million dollars of the settlement must be raised from future donations. So when you donate now to GFA you are really donating to their former donors… I don’t see how justice is served by that part of the settlement.
That’s not how it will work. If you read the settlement, the funds that can be used to fulfill the remaining $11 million dollars can only come from general donations (i.e. not funds given for the “field”, but funds given for general ministry use). If you give to the ministry in general, yes, your funds can be used to satisfy the settlement. However, if you’re giving to fund a field project, then no, those funds will not be used in that way.
“To the extent the funds to be raised under Section 4.2.2(b) are raised
through donations, they shall be raised through solicitations for general ministry purposes.”
In other words, not through solicitations for paying this settlement. Seems dishonest.
IMO, this was wise and prudent on GFA’s part. The case is complicated and complex. Whether guilty or not, why put yourself in the hands of a jury of lay people when the outcome is likely going to go against you. “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge….” (Matt. 5:25)
I’m sure GFA has over $1 Billion in cash and assets worldwide. $37 million is small potatoes in comparison.
In making this deal:
1. GFA avoids any and all criminal or civil charges against the organization.
2. GFA may have a bad reputation for a few years but people have the memory of a goldfish and this will be forgotten in a few years.
3. GFA pays $37 million now but, given time business will carry on as usual and reap future millions for GFA.
Regarding his wife stepping down from the board. Big deal. $37 million paid. Nothing really changes. Smart move! This will all be buried in some dusty old books. All the bad press on the internet will sink into oblivion. GFA wins. Warren Throckmorton, GFA Diaspora and disgruntled donors are left with the illusion/delusion they won. KP Yohannan says “Checkmate!”
KP is not a young man, and the runway is
only so long.
Your looking at the situation backwards. You essentially say, he’s getting away with the loot. I’m saying, there’s nowhere to go. Nowhere to run, for any of us. Only death.
KP Yohannan did skate on this one and it really didn’t cost him much.
I do agree in part — Any working board would have booted K.P. by now. He hasn’t exactly been a stellar CEO.
KP can start raising funds from other countries and other sources. I doubt people in other countries know about all this unless there is a big splash in the media which I doubt. USA is not the only country with funds. KP and co. have a steady revenue from businesses. He will recoup his losses soon and if he gets donors to pay the penalities he has no out of pocket expense. Please tell me where the OUCH is? The lawyers did quite well on the other hand and KP knew they wanted it badly.
Look at all the big names that got suckered into endorsing him. Do you really think he can’t sucker new board members and keep the game going for a long time? KP is still in business. Let’s hope and pray he gets so full of himself that he makes a major slip up in the near future. Now there is a recorded history of crime. Next time he won’t get off easy. The judge will see a pattern. Everyone will see a pattern. KP is not cured of his negative behaviors. He will think he is clever and keep going over the line. It is a big deal for an India to fool the big American court system. This is where it might get really fun. He won’t be able to help himself by reverting to the same old. Stay tuned!!
So the donors can collect refunds, what’s to stop loyalists from re-donating that $$ back?
Nothing, but probably most of them will simply not collect the refund in the first place.
GFA does not avoid criminal investigation which is ongoing. The organization will be monitored for three years by the federal judge and Garland Murphy. He doesn’t have to keep any wrongdoing secret.
Perhaps so. But I think KP and the rest of the staff at GFA will know enough to play nice and get things straightened out over the next three years until this blows over. After 3 years, Murphy will be shown the door like Cluely and Theissen as he gets his “adios nice to have known you letter.” Really the penalty is nothing more than a slap on the wrist for K.P. Yohannan and Gospel for Asia as this whole thing gets white washed. Regarding Criminal Investigation in the USA or Canada resulting in charges, I personally see that going no where but time will bear that out.
Can a leopard change its spots? Authoritarians who think themselves above the law can’t just stop doing what they’re doing. They either get the boot or they keep working to bring the whole ship down with them.
Has anyone been actually charged criminally?
I partially agree.
He now has two board members who are in a position to demand documents and answers, and scream if they get obstructed. They must be on the board for the next three years at a minimum, and removing them immediately at the end of the three year period won’t exactly look good. KP will have to be on best behaviour for the next three years at least, and, hope that they don’t find anything incriminating in historical documents that they will legally have the right to see.
Also, while they avoid any future civil action, this does nothing to stop a criminal investigation and any resulting criminal charges. And that is where I’d prefer to see this matter resolved anyway.
That said, five years down the road, if those two board members haven’t found anything conclusive while they were in position, and if the criminal investigation has not resulted in any charges, the situation won’t have changed much from where we were before the lawsuit, other than that they had to spend a bunch of money and be careful in their accounting for a few years.
I don’t see how criminal liability can be foreclosed by a civil settlement.
I don’t see how criminal liability can be foreclosed by a civil settlement.
Criminal charges are very very unlikely. The RCMP began an investigation 4 years ago in Canada at Board member, Gary Clewly (a former RCMP officer) and Bruce Morrison’s behest. A number of former GFA staff members were interviewed. There were no charges, no yanking of GFA’s charitable status. NOTHING! The best the government could do was deny Pat Emerick his landed status in Canada. Keep your hopes up if you want to, but in 3 years, it will be clear blue skies for GFA.
I hope you’re wrong, but I can’t say I’m confident.
KP will hire a PR firm to make sure it is buried. Let’s hope his wife dumps him and takes his assets. How anyone can be married to this law breaker is beyond me.
We don’t know her motives, but law breakers of all stripes have been able to remain married. Some women like the money or prestige, others don’t know where to run and don’t see a way out.
If she can be legally dragged through the courts she might stay in so she can avoid personally consequences. Not sure if more court cases are allowed but if so I would abandon a sinking ship and clear my conscience.
No more lawsuits towards the defendants can be raised on this issue.
I did not see this coming but the expensive GFA lawyers had to know that they had zero chance before a jury. I would have preferred that this go to trial and that they would have been found guilty in a court of law. I am not sure what the end game is going to look like now. There is no doubt that Believers Church is a cult of personality and this will not change that. I do not see any money coming back from India for this, for what is done is done. My concern is that anyone in our society with enough money can run any kind of scam that they want and that there is no one and nothing in place that will actually shut them down. This is a bigger problem in our society than I ever realized before. Scams are scams. I was naive about how corrupt our society has gotten.
37,000,000.00 … 37 MILLION…. THIRTY SEVEN MILLION.
I’d like to cuss here.
Remember they raised 93 million alone in 2013. They’ll have no problem finding 37 in some Hong Kong bank.
Although giving is said to be down, I think that is correct. I don’t see the amount as troubling to the insiders but it is something to be ashamed of hence the fact that GFA’s press release didn’t mention it.
My understanding is that giving is down by more than half (if we’re using $93 million as a benchmark), though I don’t have a good source on the info.
When one has a multitude of businesses in India they can easily replace the income. How will the new board members monitor anything in India? Same old just another day in my opinion. Thanks to all that tried hard to expose this man and the organization. We know have recorded history so when it happens again it won’t be so easy to escape.
There is still presumably a criminal investigation. This doesn’t dodge that.
KP will drag it out as much as possible. That is the Indian way. Indians are masters at manipulating systems. They don’t like accountability nor restrictions on their behaviors.
Yes, but it’s harder to bribe the authorities in the U.S.
Very interesting outcome. I wonder how they’ll raise the $37 million. Will they get another anonymous donation from the field? With Murphy on the board, that’ll be difficult to pull off.
Still, how much insight will he really have into what’s happening on the field? If a percentage of funds are redirected to other businesses but the paperwork is forged to make it look OK, will he have enough information to see through it?
It’s certainly a major blow to GFA, but I’m not sure if it really solves the situation in the long run.
BTW, on their website, they don’t mention the size of the settlement, and you have to read until near the bottom to see that they actually have to pay anything. Spin indeed.
From the settlement agreement, it seems GFA has $26 million on hand already because they have to send it to a special account in 30 days. They do have to raise an additional $11 million to get up to the agreed upon $37 million. Because they don’t have this $11 million, they’ve had to basically put up the GFA Compound (GFA HQ in east Texas) as security, in case they are unable to raise the money.
“To the extent the funds to be raised under Section 4.2.2(b) are raised through donations, they shall be raised through solicitations for general ministry purposes. To secure the obligation of GFA-USA to fund the additional $11,000,000 to the Settlement Administrator, GFA-USA shall grant a deed of trust lien for the benefit of the Settlement Administrator against the GFA-USA campus, such deed of trust to be in the form attached hereto as Exhibit G (the “Deed of Trust”). At such time as the $11,000,000 is transferred to the Settlement Administrator pursuant to Section 4.2.2(c), the Deed of Trust shall be released. If all or any portion of the $11,000,000 is not transferred by the deadline stated in Section 4.2.2(c), the Deed of Trust will remain in place with respect to any unraised amount.”
Maybe they have to empty that bank account in Hong Kong.
$26 million is a lot to have on hand.
I have personally been very curious where they got that $26 million. They aren’t bringing in that much money anymore (surprise surprise), so …. who knows.
While giving has reportedly dropped considerably, it’s not a stretch to imagine that they could have $26 million sitting in the U.S. not yet transferred to the field. This would especially be the case if they anticipated a major settlement and so were saving up over the last year.
Of course this in no way addresses the other 4 concerns raised by the former staff and confirmed by Gayle Irwin’s investigation. IOHO, despite the size of the amounts involved, this was arguably the least of the problems GFA needs to address.
GFA: Grifter$ for A$ia.
Wow. And talk about a cult of personality…
Indians will look at this and say crime pays in the great USA! My only hope is that KP has broken more laws than this and some honest soul(s) out there is/are ready to tell the truth finally. Where is our Indian whistleblower??!! Contact Dr. Throckmorton please!
With Murphy on the board he can demand answers and reports and the accounting right?
Not just Dr. Murphy, but the court will ensure compliance. From the Settlement Agreement:
“Upon the entry of the Final Approval Order, GFA-USA will create a board sub-committee that will exist for three (3) years or until GFA-USA is recertified by the ECFA and consist of five (5) board members, which shall include Dr. Murphy or his designee(s) and which shall not include K.P. Yohannan or Daniel Punnose, to monitor GFA-USA’s compliance with this Agreement. The sub-committee while in existence shall produce a confidential annual report which shall be delivered to the board, the Honorable Erin Wiedemann, and Lead Counsel.”
The sweat money from sincere donors. Ouch!
Ouch indeed. My dear mother is such a giving soul and supported GFA for years. When I told her of the concerns, she talked with someone in their USA headquarters and they assured her everything was okay. She’s done now and won’t give anymore. I personally have been “burned” a number of times myself and have become quite reticent about giving to anywhere except my local church. I am of extremely modest means by the world’s standard, and I believe God loves a cheerful giver, but these days I have found out the hard way that even organizations that call themselves Christian…well I just don’t know anymore…
There are good organisations out there, but you have to do your homework.
I rather doubt it. If charity were practiced commonly and individually there would be no need for organization$.
The purpose of a middle man is always to syphon money from a transaction that two parties can do more efficiently themselves.
That’s not always the case. A middle-man can often contribute a great deal of value in organising matters, for example. The banking industry is a prime example of this – the bank acts as a middle-man between savers and borrowers, and everyone is better off as a result.
For charity, individuals don’t usually have the resources to make a difference beyond their immediate area. You can find a worthy cause to help in your town or city, but for someone who can only afford a few hundred or thousand per year, they can’t efficiently help with more distant causes. A well-run organisation can make a difference here.
The role of the middle man in Christian charity is to sever the direct Love bond between giver and receiver. That is what organizations of religion do, it’s a huge pattern of alienation with them and is no different than what the government can do anyway. This is a corruption and adulterates much of the beauty in life that was intended.
The money and what it accomplishes is all futile. The Love manifested in its giving is the entire point. And you can do so much more Love by doing it yourself, no matter how small.
God has infinite resources; the apparent scarcity of this life was to make Love more abundant.
Game with me these two scenarios:
1. A tsunami strikes, and Christian organizations syphon 30% minimum of the aid from a hundred thousand donors to deliver it efficiently.
2. A tsunami strikes, and ten thousand Christians go to the tsunami to give direct aid to the victims to let them know how much they Love them.
According to the world, Scenario 1 is superior, it gives several times more aid by the numbers. But how many more people enter the kingdom of heaven in Scenario 2 – I bet it’s a lot more.
The world is about numbers, the Kingdom of Heaven is about intimate personal connection in Love. Scenario 2 is better because it changes people for the better, and once critical mass is reached, the numbers end up superior too.
P.S.
Your banking example is a perfect one, how many kids spend a hundred thousand dollars in interest on a mortgage when their living ancestors have more than that in the very same bank? We don’t have the money for individual charity because it’s being syphoned off by middle men when a direct love relationship would have done it better and made the world a brighter place at the same time.
On your scenario:
A Christian organisation will have legitimate administration costs. But so will individual Christians. And in fact, usually, the administration costs of unorganised individuals will be greater unless there is financial mismanagement on the part of the organisation.
If ten thousand Christians go directly to the location of the tsunami to give aid, they have some significant costs. Airfare is potentially $1000 or more per person, depending on where they’re going. Then there’s transportation for any supplies they bring, time off work, etc. They also don’t have contacts in the community, don’t know the culture, and may not know the language. All these costs mean that only people who are comfortably well off can afford to go help. Can you really imagine a working class tradesman taking two weeks off work to fly to Indonesia after the December 26th tsunami? Additionally, these ten thousand individuals can’t set up refugee camps unless someone is in charge and organising things – and then you start to have a de facto organisation.
An organisation, on the other hand, already has people on the ground, already has contacts in the community, has people who know the language and culture. They can receive a huge number of small donations and have a few hundred people on the field to hand it around. Rather than airfare for ten thousand people, that’s airfare for at most a few hundred people.
The “ten thousand individuals” makes a lot of sense for a situation that’s reasonably local – the Cajun Navy is a great example. But the Cajun Navy can’t easily go to the other side of the world to go help with the aftermath of a tsunami in Indonesia or Sri Lanka.
“Can you really imagine a working class tradesman taking two weeks off work to fly to Indonesia after the December 26th tsunami?” No I imagine retired people, kids, and upper class people doing it. Why would you think I expect people who can’t do it, doing it?
We do what we can. But having the primary model of charity be giving money to 501(c)(3) orgs rather than directly to the very needy people God has put all around you, literally your neighbors, is a very good way to rip the heart of love out of your society. A program cannot replace a direct relationship, nor heal the wounds of a broken world.
You can delegate the spending of all your charitable capacity but then you have nothing left for actually loving your actual neighbors, and that duty to love is non-delegable. And it’s not just for the recipient’s benefit, it’s for the donor too.
I believe God intended every interaction between two lives to profit both, that anything else is privatio boni. 501(c)(3) donor relationships don’t really do that. Loving help in the context of direct relationships enriches both.
“”Can you really imagine a working class tradesman taking two weeks off work to fly to Indonesia after the December 26th tsunami?” No I imagine retired people, kids, and upper class people doing it. Why would you think I expect people who can’t do it, doing it?”
So then you shut out a very large percentage of the population from contributing to needs on the other side of the world.
Sure, it’s good and important to help your neighbours. But sometimes your neighbours don’t need significant financial help and there’s been a tsunami on the other side of the world. In that case, a large number of small donations can add up to something significant.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s a huge amount of value in helping local needs directly in person. Where possible, I completely agree that that’s usually a better way to do it. But it’s not always possible, and in the other situations, there is a legitimate role for charitable organisations to play.
Now, whether the current model of charitable organisation is the optimal one is another question altogether, and I’m sure we can both point out things that could be improved. But doing away with organisations altogether is not the answer.
When the donors can’t hold the orgs accountable, we have too many of the latter.
You might want to investigate through Charity Navigator or similar organizations, before you donate. Not every charity is rated (including Gospel for Asia, because they are not required to file an IRS Form 990), but Charity Navigator is pretty thorough in their information for those that do file the Form 990.
Does this really change anything for this organization?
The statement by GFA USA is a sweep under the rug, moving on statement.
It’ll be back to business as usual a.s.a.p. I suspect, given that Dr. Murphy is up against the true believers with fellow board members.
$37-million is a big blow in the PR column if the Christian press reports it. Murphy can say what he wants and the court is monitoring the settlement. If he or the other board member he helps to select sees fraud or shenanigans, they can blow the whistle.
Thanks.
Lots of questions after reading the settlement. I’ll refrain.:^)
I see Johnnie Moore has his fingers in the pr of this – busy guy. Isn’t he managing Harvest Bible Chapel pr also? I also see Christianity Today got a slap on the wrist in the Gospel for Asia pr release.
On the Better Business Bureau USA website there is a complaint against the Heffler Claims Group that looks like it’s from a GFA donor. Quite funny to read, since the irate donor can’t seem to grasp how this works. Heffler responded to no avail, and sent the complaint off to the legal beagles.
https://www.bbb.org/us/pa/phila/profile/class-action-settlement-administrator/heffler-claims-group-0241-235999496/complaints
It was interesting to see ECFA mentioned in the court doc. Hope you can explain down the road.
Looking forward to what you post in the coming days. Thank you for your hard work and your faithfulness in keeping this out in the open.
$37-million is a big blow in the PR column if the Christian press reports it. Murphy can say what he wants and the court is monitoring the settlement. If he or the other board member he helps to select sees fraud or shenanigans, they can blow the whistle.