Date.now() : (function() { return +new Date })(); The first in a string of corporate scandals, Enron came to symbolize corporate excess of the 1990s and is Americas best-known white collar crime. People of faith vulnerable to 'affinity frauds,' authorities say. BFA began to invest heavily in the Arizona real estate market, and at the incorporated both nonprofit entities. or subscribe. assets were receivables from the insolvent ALO. In order to remove those loans from its books, the BFA secretly funneled money to a subsidiary. In a March 29 statement, the day after receiving notice from Andersen, the trust said one of the first steps will be to ask the mediator who presided over the settlement negotiations, retired federal judge Layn Phillips, to rule that Andersen has breached the agreement and to order Andersen to pay the $217 million as promised.. By 1997, ALO had a negative net worth of $138.9 and owed BFA $70.3 million . The insurance company is refusing to honor the settlement, based on a clause added at the last minute allowing the insurance company to void the March 1 settlement, The Arizona Republic reported. The BFA became dependent upon future investors to pay older investors and loan interest. mps._debug('[MPS]: email address detected in url, bypass gpt. The entities had no employees of their Baptist Foundation of Arizona was the largest non-profit in U.S. history. Hunsinger is one of eight former BFA officials indicted in 2001. 'subtype' : 'primetime_show' , d.setTime(d.getTime() + 60 * 60 * 24 * 30 * 1000); mps.response.dart.adunits[i].data = ''; July 22, 1999 BFAs board accepts the offers of President Bill Crotts, General Counsel Tom Grabinski and Controller Don Deardorff to relinquish their BFA responsibilities although remain as BFA employees. Paul D. Nelson, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a watchdog group in Winchester, Va., says that the Arizona foundations bankruptcy, like New Eras high-profile collapse, reflects poorly on religious organizations as a whole. about the Baptist Foundation of Arizona. than $20 million per year for several years. the substance of ALOs actions was to buy and hold BFAs overvalued fiduciary requirements governing nonbank passive trustees of IRAs. than ever for auditors to employ sound fraud-detection audit procedures in Under William Crotts's leadership, the foundation engaged in a major strategic shift in its operations. Another pastor, Manly Perry of Old Path Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas, posted a video Nov. 19 distancing himself from the New IFB. } corporations, with individuals closely associated with BFA, such as Aug. 5, 1999 BFAs board returned all client checks received since July 22; suspended redemption of all investment products; retained Squire, Sanders, and Dempsey, LLP, an international law firm. }); const name = ONE_TRUST_COOKIE_NAME; })(); The Baptist Foundation of Arizona was founded in 1948 to raise money to back up Baptist causes and to pay a return for investors. too heavily upon management assurances. The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. In his resignation letter, Tresch told BFA officials they have placed themselves in a position of civil and criminal liability. BFAs failure and the subsequent penalties provide The Arizona Republic reported that Novak had said Andersen's circumstances have changed significantly since it was indicted March 14 on federal charges involving its auditing of Houston-based energy trader Enron. Aug. 7, 1999 BFA sends a letter to all investors revealing it has put a temporary freeze on accepting new investments or redeeming old ones. The foundation, controlled by the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, declared bankruptcy in 1999 after state regulators ordered it to stop selling securities. isEEARegionCheck(); [1], Each of these related companies had Bill Crotts and the BFA's chief attorney, Tom Grabinski, on their board. some red flag warnings that fraud was occurring, led to the Andersen settlement. A lawyer for Crotts, Michael Piccarreta, said all the foundation's investors would have been paid back if the state hadn't shut it down in 1999 for what the Arizona Corporation Commission said were faulty financial statements. Year after year, Arthur Anderson audits the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, giving the non-profit group its stamp of approval and a clean bill of financial health. Nevertheless, // check for region and redirect if country is in EEARegion // execute .map(categoryPreference => parseInt(categoryPreference.split(':')[0], 10)); }, mpsopts = { By watching and reviewing the videos about the Baptist Found of Arizona (BFA), I noticed that Arthur Andersen "[1] Since he was working for both companies, Grabinski was able to authorize questionable transactions. of Arizona (BFA) engaged in one of the most audacious fraud schemes on record. operations from collapsing was a constant influx of new investor money that In applying SAS 99, auditors should plan and execute every audit Convention required BFA to be a profitable, self-sustaining independent entity. Andersen blamed WorldCom for the scandal, insisting that the . Reflection and resources at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens. }; The Enron scandal has entered the BFA picture, according to Andersens Phoenix attorney, Ed Novak. of the accounting professions new antifraud initiatives, such as the For example, on one day Grabinski attested to the value of a piece of property twice. The settlement also would have been the second largest ever paid by a Big Five accounting firm to settle litigation not associated with the savings & loan crisis. Anderson asked for the documents and BFA officials refused to provide them. BFAs financial statements from 1984 to 1997. } Yet it raised most of its money by selling investment products to individuals and invested most of those funds in ALO, an allegedly phony company owned by one-time BFA director Jalma Hunsinger. . In 1989, Arizonas Who We Are; The Team . window._mpspixZ = (function(a){var b="abcdefghiklmnopqrstuvwxyz".split("");a||(a=Math.floor(Math.random()*b.length));for(var c="",d=0;d()[].,;:s@"]+(.[^=&/<>()[].,;:s@"]+)*)@(([[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}.[0-9]{1,3}])|(([a-zA-Z-0-9]+. let cEnd = document.cookie.indexOf(';', cStart); The Cacaces were among 11,000 investors who lost a combined $580 million when the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, or BFA, a registered nonprofit, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1999 in what prosecutors described as a Ponzi scheme. Start Here; About Us. }; (function(){ Instead, they referred the individual to former BFA Director, Jalma Hunsinger, who then purchased the property for US$1. July 14, 1999 Arizona Corporation Commission accuses Baptist Foundation of Arizona, Arizona Southern Baptist New Church Ventures, Inc. and Christian Financial Partners, Inc. of violating Arizona Securities Act. 'hline' : 'American Greed' , Editor: Donald Dale Deardorff, Senior Vice President and Controller, was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of $150 million (equivalent to $196 million in 2021). the firm should have issued either a qualified or an adverse opinion on the Wednesday, June 10, 2009. The Arizona Baptist Foundation. After a series of delays, a criminal trial for Crotts and Grabinski got underway in September 2005. Oct. 11, 1999 BFA announces it is close to finalizing the restructuring plan that will be communicated to investors later in the month. Jalma Hunsinger, President and Director of Church Ventures (a company whose stated purpose was to build churches), paid $150,000 (equivalent to $196,000 in 2021). Arthur Anderson had the same problems with the Baptist Foundation of Arizona several years earlier when 750 million in assets was more like 125 million in assets because most of the assets booked by the Baptist Foundation were found to be substantially overvalued. They were acquitted of 23 counts of theft. Griebel said she left messages at Andersens offices in Phoenix and Chicago warning the Foundation was broke, but they were never answered. mps._log('**** LOADED: Google PII Fix - cnbc-cms-header-insert'); of Accountancy alleged that because of the very material departures from GAAP 'cag[type_creator]' : 'Stacy Keach' , PC Phone Home If more than $40-million in claims are made, investors will have to share the money on a prorated basis, receiving even less than 20 cents on the dollar. BFA employees sold investment products through circulars touting not one investor has ever lost a penny of their investment or the interest they earned. But by the late 1980s, prosecutors say, the BFA was losing money as Arizonas once-robust property market began to cool off. But it also "loaned" nearly $140 million to companies owned by three of the Foundation's directors. outside an entity that suggests the possibility that management fraud may Two of the most significant entities set up to hide BFAs nonperforming the villa pacific palisades, ca. View Jasmine's full profile See who you know in common Get introduced . [4], The BFA sold property to the elderly that was marketed as a retirement community with a nursing home. Transactions Scandals and stock market crashes . Text. Arthur Andersen provided unqualified clean audit opinions on Feb. 19, 2002 4:00 pm ET. ideas on how fraud could occur and adjust the audit program plan so that tests was placed on probation, requiring that his work be monitored for two years }).catch(() => {}); A new management committee of Joe Panter, Mark Roberts and Mark Dickerson is installed. a complex mesh of over 90 insider-controlled entities had been used to help Aug. 27, 1999 A class action lawsuit filed by investor Franklin Kestner Sr. charges the BFA bilked investors by funneling their money into projects that resulted in personal gain and profit for BFA officers. The first time he attested to the value, he indicated that the property was worth $3.3 million. Aug. 30, 1999 Pastor Richard A. Kimsey and his wife file a lawsuit charging the BFA with running an investment sales Ponzi scheme. "They had their faith shattered and faced the possible loss of all their retirement investments.". He is pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church, an anti-LGBTQ hate group in Tempe, Arizona. let cStart = document.cookie.indexOf(`${name}=`); disguise BFAs tenuous financial condition. Among Southern Baptists in Arizona and the neighboring states, where many of the investors live, the impact of the case may be more direct. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, Art Toalston is a writer based in Nashville and a former editor of Baptist Press. But the foundation has operated independently of the convention, and state regulators say it is unlikely that the statewide group would be held liable for the foundations actions. Sept. 25, 1999 BFA creates an Investors Committee to meet and negotiate with the BFA on behalf of their fellows.. Oct. 7, 2009 -- It's a practice that appeals to some people but disturbs many others: freezing the deceased in the hope . All rights reserved. The Baptist Foundation of Arizona filed for bankruptcy in federal court last week, owing nearly $600-million to 13,000 people who had bought securities from the organization. Management responded to the new environment by structuring accounting transactions The clause was depicted as a housekeeping measure, Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano said, according to the paper, which quoted her as declaring, Arthur Andersen lied., Napolitano, according to a news release from her office, will be seeking severe penalties against Andersen LLP (formerly Arthur Andersen) and others., This is an absolute outrage, Napolitano said. View Notes - Baptist Foundation of Arizona from ACCT 2101 at Kennesaw State University. While the recently enacted Sarbanes-Oxley Act may only directly impact auditors Star Stacy Keach (voice) See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist Photos PHOENIX Two former executives with the Baptist Foundation of Arizona were sentenced to prison Friday and ordered to repay millions for defrauding thousands of investors in a botched. Market data provided by Factset. Another important provision of SAS 99 is that auditors should talk to employees, PHOENIX Two former executives of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, which collapsed in what has been called the largest nonprofit bankruptcy filing in the nation's history, have been convicted of fraud. Twenty years later, Glen Crotts' son, William Pierre "Bill" Crotts, became the organization's second president. At the time of BFAs bankruptcy, console.log('PUB-GDPR-CHECK'); This page contains information The Cult Education Institute has gathered. Meanwhile in Phoenix, another trial with many similarities quietly entered its 17th week. The BFA began marketing individual funds, often in churches, telling prospective investors their funds would be safe, yield high returns and help strengthen Southern Baptists in the state. BFA invested heavily in real estate, a more speculative investment strategy than other Baptist foundations in the state traditionally used. The BFA won a religious exemption from both Arizona statutes governing securities and banking laws. mps.__timer = Date.now ? Andersen is accused of ignoring a series of warnings while the Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA), a nonprofit company that operated much like a bank and offered high interest rates on retirement . Information received from independent sources auditors overlook? BFAs counsel is informed that the state investigation could result in proceedings against individuals at BFA as well as the organization itself. Aug. 11, 1999 The Arizona Republic reports the foundations funds have been frozen as a result of the investigation. mps._adsheld.push(adunit) Still it functioned much like a financial institution, raising funds through sale of investment agreements and mortgage-backed notes, which in turned were invested in real estate. Prosecutors estimated 11,000 investors, most of them elderly, were defrauded in the 1980s and 1990s. }; 207, or tstolle@bcmd.org. Its initial mission was to raise donations and support and New Church Ventures $173.6 million. in that it represents the largest cash settlement for a nonprofit case and accounting, marketing, and administrative services. 'is_content' : '1' , First case: The Baptist Foundation of Arizona invests and loses millions entrusted by churchgoers, and its mission ends in scandal. Inadequate disclosure of losses on notes receivables due The BFA consistently sold the concept that its main objective was to help its investors serve the work of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, while also providing them with favorable returns, as stated in a BFA investor brochure: We are a ministry dedicated to serving the Lord and furthering Southern Baptist and other Christian causes. mps._queue = mps._queue || {}; } } July 19, 1999 BFAs board votes to suspend its offer and sale of securities. if (!matches) { (Phoenix, Ariz. - September 5, 2006) Lawrence Dwain Hoover today pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in the criminal case involving the Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA). PHOENIX - Two former executives of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, which collapsed in what has been called the largest nonprofit bankruptcy filing in the nation's history, have been. BFA ultimately filed for bankruptcy, and thousands of elderly investors lost } Nov. 7, 1999 BFA unveils a restructuring plan that would give investors the choice of a cash-out option worth 20 cents on the dollar or shares in a newly created for-profit company. mps.insertAd("#" + slotid, adunit) mpsload.src = "//" + mpsopts.host + "/fetch/ext/load-" + mpscall.site + ".js?nowrite=2"; var pixelurl = ((document.location.protocol === 'https') ? Copyright 2023, Good Faith Media | Site by, Two Words That Explain the Kyle Rittenhouse Acquittal, Challenging Racism in the Criminal Punishment System by. Investors who agree to receive any money recovered in such litigation must give up their rights to pursue other legal action against the foundation, such as joining the two class-action lawsuits that have already been filed against the foundation and its affiliates. Sentencing was set for Sept. 29. accounting treatment desired by management. Romero was a former congregant of Anderson's church before going to start the Fort Worth church with his . When the foundation was closed by the Arizona attorney general's office, it owed $570 million to investors and had assets worth an estimated $220 million. Along with companies like Enron and Worldcom, it was audited by accounting firm Arthur Andersen, giving investors a false sense of security. 'cag[type_franchise]' : 'American Greed' , Legal Statement. both in and outside of management. Up to $40 million is available for the cash-out plan. These. manager on the BFA audit lost their CPA licenses to practice and a third CPA The BFA was associated with the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, which was affiliated with the national organization. mps.cloneAd = function() { return false; } is an increased emphasis on professional skepticism. In 1992, records indicated that the company had lost $3.2 million due to questionable transactions. But a jury found them innocent on 23 counts of theft, saying they didn't intend to steal from investors but got in over their heads and tried to cover it up. relationships, transactions, and balances (SFAS 57. recently issued SAS 99, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. succeeded in 1984 by his son, William P. Crotts. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Religious Prey: Baptist Foundation Of Arizona / Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos, "Elderly couple pays dearly for Baptist fund's trouble", "In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Wholly Owned Subsidiary", "Baptist Foundation of Arizona's Financial Collapse", "Terry Goddard Applauds Verdicts in Baptist Foundation Trial", "Grabinski v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, CV 04-01751-PHX-MHM, D. Az", "Final 5 Ariz. Foundation Defendants Sentenced", "Victims of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona | SENTENCES IMPOSED", "BFA Liquidation Trust v. Arthur Andersen, LLP", "Arthur Andersen Reaches Deal (Again) with Baptist Foundation of Arizona Investors", "Religious Prey: Baptist Foundation Of Arizona / Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baptist_Foundation_of_Arizona&oldid=1137812926, Christian organizations established in 1948, Baptist organizations in the United States, Baptist denominations established in the 20th century, Articles lacking reliable references from May 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 February 2023, at 16:04. How did such a massive fraud develop? Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. June 2, 2010, 9:03 AM. The BFA carried out a number of illegal activities in perpetrating affinity fraud against Southern Baptist worshipers in Arizona. DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS. Officials at the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention were unavailable for comment. New Church Ventures sold the stock to another BFA subsidiary, also in exchange for a $1.6 million reduction in a credit line, which turned around and sold for $3.2 million to Harold Dewayne Friend, who in September accepted a plea bargain and agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors. {"@context": "https://schema.org","@type": "WebPage","url": "https://www.cnbc.com/id/100000099","keywords": ["CNBC TV","Primetime Shows 2","American Greed","source:tagname:CNBC US Source"]} Watch how the . The BFA case involves the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by a nonprofit organization in U.S. history and the March 1 settlement was approximately twice the largest malpractice court settlement previously agreed to by Chicago-based Arthur Andersen. Bob Allen is managing editor of EthicsDaily.com. of fraud and even more critical to engage in effective audit procedures to const EEA_REGION_COUNTRY_CODES = ['AT', 'BE', 'BG', 'HR', 'CY', 'CZ', 'DK', 'EE', 'FI', 'FR', 'DE', 'GR', 'HU', 'IS', 'IE', 'IT', 'LV', 'LI', 'LT', 'LU', 'MT', 'NL', 'NO', 'PL', 'PT', 'RO', 'SK', 'SI', 'ES', 'SE', 'CH', 'TR', 'GB']; (a) The transfer or acquisition of the controlling interest oc-curred within a taxable transfer period. cEnd = document.cookie.length; if (cEnd === -1) { the auditors would have discovered that ALO was insolvent. Login Here. Two former executives of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona were convicted Monday on three counts of fraudulent schemes and one count of conducting an illegal enterprise. The real estate market did Site by Mere. own, and both organizations paid BFA substantial management fees to provide The Reverend Ed Shaw suggested that the BFA "Explain the situation completely to investors; ask their forgiveness; let them know their gift of principal would help if they choose to give some or all of it. receivables only because of funds being obtained from either New Church Ventures, Second, return false; } Former general counsel Thomas Grabinski was convicted of three counts of fraud and one count of illegally conducting an enterprise. a sobering reminder to auditors that it is important to understand the causes Superior Ct. Maricopa County, CV 2002-005117. But the value of the investors shares will depend on the performance of the new companys investments and how it fares in the stock market. The Baptist Foundation of Arizona was established with the pretense of serving Southern Baptist causes. In a short time, it had created a complicated web of dozens of interlocking non-profit and for-profit subsidiaries to operate its real-estate and other investment deals. Both options for investors have limitations. The principal allegation of the lawsuit is that Arthur Anderson ignored clear signs and evidence that one of its clientsthe Baptist Foundation of Arizona (BFA)was engaged in ongoing fraud . A non-profit corporation chartered in 1948 to help Southern Baptist causes, the BFA returned about $1.3 million to Baptist causes in 50 years but loaned nearly $140 million to companies owned by three current and former BFA directors. The foundation halted security sales in August, however, when state regulators found that it did not have the money to cover its debts to investors. const OneTrustCategories = { The new company will, like its not-for-profit predecessor, invest its assets in real estate, venture-capital deals, and some equities. At the time BFA filed for bankruptcy in November 1999, it had total liabilities of approximately $650 million and listed assets of approximately $290 million.

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