A federal judge in Salt Lake City will hear oral arguments in a class-action lawsuit accusing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of fraud over its tithing and financial practices. The lawsuit, brought by former church employee David Nielsen and others, alleges that the church diverted billions of dollars from tithing funds to prop up an ailing insurance company and build a mall in downtown Salt Lake City. The church denies the allegations and argues that the lawsuit is an intrusion into matters of faith.
Your guide to the high-stakes court hearing facing the LDS Church this week over its tithing and financial practices
In late 2019, a whistleblower and former fund manager for the church’s investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors, leaked details to the IRS ofthat while piling up immense market returns at Ensign Peak, without spending a penny from the reserve account on charity, church leaders diverted billions of dollars to prop up an ailing insurance company, Beneficial Life, and help build and develop the City Creek Center mall in downtown Salt Lake City.
Church lawyers have forcefully invoked the Constitution’s protections for religion, asking the court to label the lawsuit an unauthorized invasion into deep spiritual questions and a breach of church autonomy. Their briefs have at times likened the plaintiffs’ pleadings to asking a judge to decide the truth of a biblical story or a church member’s beliefs.
A screen capture from a hearing on James Huntsman's fraud lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints., a veteran litigator with the Salt Lake City firm Magleby Cataxinos, along with a team of lawyers from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.a Los Angeles lawyer representing Huntsman in his tithing action, is also an attorney for a California couple among the plaintiffs in this case.
LDS Church Tithing Fraud Financial Practices Religion
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