The business executive said he initially started at Ensign Peak with optimistic visions that he was “going to change the world” by assisting in managing its charitable resources, only to find the reserve account was instead operated as “a clandestine hedge fund” - one that only built wealth, Nielsen insists, and hoarded more than $100 billion while spending nothing on the church’s philanthropic missions. The “60 Minutes” interview marked Nielsen’s first public comments on his explosive assertions. He has since expanded on it in court testimony and in a memo sent to Congress, as well as, the Salt Lake City resident has said, in follow-up interviews with federal investigators. Nielsen worked as a top manager for Ensign Peak for nine years but resigned shortly before his late 2019 complaint to the IRS. Since ordinary citizens must obey the law, should the IRS and Department of Justice permit politically powerful church organizations to flout the law?” “.The SEC’s action is but the first of many steps in essential government scrutiny, and next are the IRS and the Department of Justice. “Why would an organization violate the law and ‘misstate’ - for almost 20 years - facts it was legally required to disclose?” Nielsen’s lawyer wrote. Securities and Exchange Commission in which the church and Ensign Peak agreed to pay $5 million in fines for intentionally hiding nearly $32 billion in past stock holdings under a series of shell companies. The attorney also referred to a settlement filed in February by the U.S. While the Salt Lake City-headquartered faith now disputes Nielsen’s allegation the investment fund was never used for religious, charitable or educational purposes, Sullivan said, when “60 Minutes” challenged church officials to provide documents disproving it, “the church apparently declined.” He issued the statement after church officials called the “60 Minutes” report “unfortunate,” saying it was based on “unfounded allegations.” “Otherwise,” Sullivan said in the release, “a powerful, well-connected organization will be seen as escaping the equal application of our laws.” Nielsen has provided enough evidence of church actions in avoiding paying billions in taxes, Atlanta-based lawyer Michael Sullivan said, to warrant deeper government scrutiny.
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