LDS Church Facing Federal Lawsuit Over Misuse of Tithing Contributions for Investment Purposes
Lawsuit alleges LDS investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors, diverts donations to financial investments rather than promised charitable causes; suit seeks class-action status and independent oversight of church's financial practices.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and its investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors, have been hit with a federal lawsuit alleging misuse of hundreds of thousands of dollars donated by three men. The lawsuit claims these funds were invested rather than used for promised charitable causes, contrary to the church's own financial policies.
- The lawsuit follows on the heels of a similar action filed by James Huntsman, brother of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. That suit, which seeks the return of $5 million Huntsman donated before leaving the church, recently achieved partial success on appeal and remains pending.
- Earlier in the year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fined the LDS Church and Ensign Peak Advisors a total of $5 million for using shell companies to obscure the size of the church-managed investment portfolio.
- According to the latest lawsuit, some, if not all donations, including tithes (10% of a person's income expected from members), are permanently invested in accounts not used for charitable work. These funds have reportedly been channeled to Ensign Peak Advisors, a nonprofit created in 1997 that purportedly has grown to over $100 billion in value.
- The current lawsuit seeks class-action certification, which could involve millions of church members, and calls for an independent entity to oversee the collection and use of church donations. This action aligns with allegations by whistleblower David Nielsen, a former Ensign Peak investment manager, who submitted a 90-page memorandum to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee demanding oversight into the church’s finances.
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