Bishop Eddie Long has had enough legal trouble recently with several male members of his church suing him for coercing them into sex (he settled the suits), but now he has more. Several members of his church have filed a suit accusing him of endorsing a Ponzi scheme run by a friend of his.
A dozen former members of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., filed suit in DeKalb County court in late January. The suit says that Long’s assistant had been warned that businessman Ephren W. Taylor was running a $3 million capital deficit, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
After Long introduced the businessman as his “friend,” the former New Birth members lost more than $1 million investing with the self-described “social capitalist.”
“If Bishop Eddie Long hadn’t endorsed this they wouldn’t have invested,” Jason Doss, attorney for the former members, told the Journal-Constitution.
That sounds like a fairly weak case, though discovery may provide more evidence that could change that analysis. Of course, his entire church is a scam.
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Modusoperandi
February 22, 2013 at 2:12 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Typical Ed Brayton, pointing at the few bad apples. What about all the good work that all the other bad apples do, hmm?
Ichthyic
February 22, 2013 at 2:19 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Eddie Long has been convicted of fraud twice previously, IIRC.
what’s more, he’s the man behind Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church here in NZ.
I’m dearly hoping this man goes to jail for a LONG LONG time, and the media pushes this hard.
Tamiki is currently trying to dupe his many followers here in NZ to fund him to build a “golden city” south of Auckland… sound familiar?
macallan
February 22, 2013 at 2:21 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Can anyone name a church that isn’t a scam?
( well, except the Church of the FSM obviously )
Ichthyic
February 22, 2013 at 2:25 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I recall incorrectly; he was accused of fraud by federal and state governments on numerous occasions throughout the 90s and 2000s, but never convicted.
he’s a slimy as they come.
really really.
steve84
February 22, 2013 at 4:24 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You can basically expect stuff like this from megachurch pastors
shouldbeworking
February 22, 2013 at 6:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And some nano-churches too!
grumpyoldfart
February 23, 2013 at 12:12 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
That’s how you can tell that the mainstream churches are not running a scam. They don’t have any money and they never ask the parishioners to give them any.
gridironmonger
February 23, 2013 at 10:34 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
A lot of times when religious people are the subject of conversation in a group of atheists or skeptics, someone will try to be generous and empathic and point out that the person in question might be incorrect, or deluded, etc. but they seem to be sincere (i.e. genuinely believe their theology) and trying to do what they think is the right thing.
I can’t remember the last time I heard that caveat inserted when the person under discussion was a mega-church pastor.