Church comments on SEC settlement

[Dr Moore]

You should note that Ensign Peak and the Church have been charged separately. I think that’s significant as it means the First Presidency cannot wave it’s hands and shift all the blame to Ensign Peak - as they try to do in their Church Statement on the matter.

Yes that was a main point in the OP.

Ensign Peak, at the direction of the First Presidency, and with their full knowledge, committed tax evasion for 22 years by creating multiple shell companies and pretending (lying) that they were independent operating entities.

The First Presidency should be removed from office. Either willingly, or forcibly. Any CEO or President found guilty of this kind of thing would be removed by the shareholders, assuming they lacked the integrity to resign.

Where do you get tax evasion?

Agree on the last point. If this happened in a normal company, someone would be fired (and it wouldn't be the IT staff or counsel).

[IHAQ]

Where do you get tax evasion?

Doesn’t the understating of their collective filing mean they’ve underpaid their full tax obligation? Especially if those smaller, shell entities were stated as being based in low tax areas, or were constructed in a way as to be below whatever the thresholds are for corporate taxes in the US?

From the SEC statement:

To obscure the amount of the Church’s portfolio, and with the Church’s knowledge and approval, Ensign Peak created thirteen shell LLCs, ostensibly with locations throughout the U.S., and filed Forms 13F in the names of these LLCs rather than in Ensign Peak’s name.

[Dr Moore]

Doesn’t the understating of their collective filing mean they’ve underpaid their full tax obligation?

No. The violation and the 13F filing have nothing at all to do with taxes. The 13F simply states what public equities are owned and how many shares are owned. It must be filed in the name of the controlling entity and be complete as to all shares owned. This gives the market essential information about what entities (and the people behind them) control voting rights and make buy-sell decisions related to their holdings. Failure to properly disclose on form 13F makes the market less transparent and therefore less efficient. Which is why congress passed the act into law in the first place. The church knowingly broke the law, placing their own interests (for privacy) above the law. Which is illegal, and why both Ensign Peak and the church itself were forced to settle and will forever remain unable to deny wrongdoing.

By settling, the church doesn't have to admit wrongdoing, but the order also leaves them unable to deny wrongdoing. That is the same as admitting guilt for an organization as cash-rich as the church. If time and money were the only things needed to "beat" this case, they'd have done it.

They settled for one reason: counsel finally convinced church leaders the least-bad outcome would be a settlement, because every alternative would be worse. Eg, they (both Ensign Peak & the church itself) would lose a public enforcement trial with a guilty verdict and a meaningful penalty.

[master_dc]

Dollars to donuts, the church paid more money in attorneys fees than the $5m settlement charges. Kirton McConkie is the real winner here.

Didn't the church claim that they received legal advice that lead to the SEC investigation/fine? If so, could it be assumed that KM was the source of the bad legal advice

[Dr Moore]

Didn't the church claim that they received legal advice that lead to the SEC investigation/fine? If so, could it be assumed that KM was the source of the bad legal advice

It is a virtual certainty. KM has been church counsel since at least the 1970s. And the process of taking counsel & deciding to create the many Clone LLCs would have been ringfenced to the lowest number of senior insiders.

[drumdude]

And the proprietor of SeN wonders why Mormonism is one of the most disliked religions.

Love the religion, hate the leaders.

[Dr Moore]

Sam Brunson at BCC

https://bycommonconsent.com/2023/02/21/ ... d-the-sec/

I’ve spent a lot of time explaining why the Sturm und Drang over the EPA’s taxes is overblown. And I stand by that. With what has been brought to light by the whistleblower and by other investigators, EPA and the church are perfectly compliant with federal tax law.

But not with securities law. It’s telling that in their release, the church stated that it “regret(s) mistakes made,” a statement that, frankly, as passive as it is, is as close to an expression of wrongdoing as I’ve heard the church make.

[Gadianton]

Dollars to donuts, the church paid more money in attorneys fees than the $5m settlement charges. Kirton McConkie is the real winner here.

Yep, and tithe payers are the losers. Especially the young families. These folks need to find the strength to escape this wretched cult.

[master_dc]

Didn't the church claim that they received legal advice that lead to the SEC investigation/fine? If so, could it be assumed that KM was the source of the bad legal advice

It is a virtual certainty. KM has been church counsel since at least the 1970s. And the process of taking counsel & deciding to create the many Clone LLCs would have been ringfenced to the lowest number of senior insiders.

Making profits off of bad advice you were paid to offer... I am in the wrong line of work

[kairos]

So do you think the church leaders hid the fakery from its inside auditors? The guy that gives the sterling one minute audit report at GC must like he was faked out or he hid this
As he was directed to- how about the auditor revise those 19 years of non-disclosures?