why not we had the fraud in science thread to try prove god knows what, so it's only fair to put the same gaze on to the counterpart of rational thought...irrational thought AKA religion.

 

have not checked the sources so plenty of scope here to fail;

 

article is written in 2007 i think so plenty of room to find the truth after these claims.

source: http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2007/11/08/senate-to-investigate-evangeli/

 

seems to be no shortage of such cases, and then we can get to sex offences.

 

why do i think there will be less passion and interest in this thread?

 

Senate to Investigate Evangelism Fraud?

Letters were sent Monday to the ministries demanding that financial statements and records be turned over to the committee by December 6th.

According to Grassley’s office, the Iowa Republican is trying to determine whether or not these ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles.

The six ministries identified as being under investigation by the committee are led by: Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Three of the six – Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar – also sit on the Board of Regents for the Oral Roberts University.

Notice that these are all Word of Faith ministries, the kind that preach that Jesus wants everyone, especially them, to be rich. “Plant your seed of faith”….”Every dollar you give will be returned to you 100-fold.” Uh huh. If that was the case, they’d be giving you money instead of begging you to give to them. Unsurprisingly, none of them are members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. And this investigation was kicked off by other evangelical watchdog groups:

The letters sent Monday were the culmination of a long investigation fueled in part by complaints from Ole Anthony, a crusader against religious fraud who operates the Dallas-based Trinity Foundation, which describes itself as a watchdog monitoring religious media, fraud and abuse. “We’ve been working with them for two years,” Anthony told CBS News. “We have furnished them with enough information to fill a small Volkswagen.”

Anthony said after twenty years of working with media organizations to expose televangelists, he saw little reform. He says that’s why he turned to another tactic, going straight to Grassley. He is confident that Grassley’s inquiry will be different, “What we hope is that this will lead to reform in religious nonprofits.”

The structure of many televangelist organizations – in which the leadership is often concentrated in one person or one family – has itself been the target of criticism. “Churches like these are ruled as a dictatorship,” says Rod Pitzer, who directs research at Ministry Watch in North Carolina, which provides advice for donors to Christian organizations.

Pitzer welcomes the Senate committee investigation. Ministries lacking accountability, he says, “give a black eye to churches and Christians who are trying to do things in the right manner.”

Look for them to refuse to comply and claim that a free exercise exemption from Congressional subpoenas:

In a statement, Benny Hinn’s spokesperson, Ronn Torossian, said the ministry was in the process of determining the best course of action in response to the Senate investigation. “World Healing Center Church complies with the laws that govern church and non-profit organizations and will continue to do so,” Torossian wrote.

In a statement to CBS News, Creflo Dollar called his ministry an “open book” and said he would comply with any “valid request” from Grassley. But he noted that the inquiry raised questions that could “affect the privacy of every community church in America.”

The other three ministries did not respond to requests for comment from CBS News on Monday.

This again goes to the question of how much the government can do about religious frauds, a fascinating and complex question under our constitution.

Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn.

 

Great list, though I believe you're missing the biggest fraud of all: