JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FINANCIAL HONESTY & INTEGRITY SUBSECTION PAGE 13 OF 14

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MISCELLANEOUS FINANCIAL COURT CASES


SECTION PAGE 1 OF 2


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IN RE BE was a November 2022 New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal appellate court reversal of the decision made by a refugee and protection officer to refuse to grant refugee status or protected person status to this Russian Jehovah's Witness Couple, who had spent decades moving from country to country showing little if any respect for the immigration or other laws of the countries where they entered and/or lived. A suspiciously dimwitted Kiwi Judge named "L. MOOR" granted the two JWs "refuge status" -- all while ignoring or minimizing the on-record evidence that these two Russian JWs had historically been as crooked as the letter "W". Here are pertinent edited excerpts:

The husband was born in ... 1973. ... completed military service between 1991 and 1993, ... He was reluctant to engage in any form of violence or handle arms during his military service. [Bullsh!t] ... in 1991, they married. The couple had two children, their son born in August 1993, and their daughter born in September 1999. The daughter is a citizen of the USA, after having been born there. The son is a citizen of Russia, and was born there. He currently lives in Mexico and is married to a Mexican [JW] citizen.

... in September 1996, the appellants relocated to the USA [where miraculously they were separately approached the exact same day by JWs, and instantly began "studying"] . They ... sought a permanent immigration status through a fraudulent marriage of the husband with an American citizen. The appellants themselves legally divorced, but remained a couple. ... In April 2003, the appellants were baptised at a Jehovah's Witness convention in New York. The children were present, but were not baptised. ...

In 2007, the husband was taken into immigration detention, ... The wife and children were not detained. ... The Jehovah's Witness community, including AA, an elder in their group, ... provided food, money and assistance with immigration matters. After the husband was deported to Russia in September 2007, his wife and children followed, one week later. They had overstayed their visas, ...

In 2012, the appellants sold their apartment in Russia and moved to Spain. They obtained student visas, ... In Spain, they found it difficult to attend  Jehovah's Witness meetings. They could not understand Spanish properly and were trying to survive by working many hours. [Bullsh!t] The son set up a business providing immigration consulting, ... He was assisted by the husband, ... They charged clients wishing to relocate to Spain, EU1000. ... [for exactly what the] government ... charged very little [if anything]. ... disgruntled client reported them to the Spanish authorities. As a result, the son and husband were taken in for questioning by the police. They were held overnight. They did not understand the process due to their limited language skills and did not understand they were in fact arrested. [Bullsh!t] On 29 September 2013, they appeared in court and were released without bail after representations from their Russian-speaking lawyer.

As their visas were expiring, ... and to avoid being detained regularly if anyone made a false complaint against them, they decided to leave Spain and travel through Europe. ... The couple ... travelled, with their children to Italy, France and Germany. They were supported by  Jehovah's Witnesses in each place. They decided to remain living in Germany for approximately six months, to properly experience life there. In 2014, the family returned to Russia. ...

The RSU file contains information from Interpol Madrid that confirmed he was detained in Barcelona on 27 September 2013 for fraud, and on 22 October 2013, for fraud and falsification of a public, official, or commercial documentFurther, information from Interpol Madrid indicated that because he did not appear before the indicated court, a summons and search and arrest warrant was issued for the husband with a validity of five years.

Judicial Decree from Spain (2 March 2018) ... stating that an arrest warrant was issued by the Badalona Investigating Magistrate's Court on 23 March 2015 against the husband and the son, on the basis of their unknown whereabouts. It ordered a "provisional dismissal" of proceedings against them, until they had been located. ...

The Tribunal does not accept that the husband was unaware he still had legal proceedings to address in Spain. The family's sudden departure from Spain, including leaving belongings behind, indicates an exit was made in a rush. ...

The daughter was born [in the USA] into the Jehovah's Witness faith. ... She was baptised in Russia ... in February 2015, ... A year later, she and her brother travelled to Israel to continue their Jehovah's Witness studies. After returning to Russia, she relocated to the USA aged 16 years. She made return visits to Russia, during which she attended secret meetings held in her parents' apartment. While it was scary meeting covertly, ... The daughter then spent two to three months in the United Kingdom, where she was invited to stay with Jehovah's Witnesses.

In July 2016, the son was baptised in Italy. In November 2016, the son travelled to Mexico. He was still avoiding military service and decided to remain living in that country after meeting his [JW] wife there. ... He works remotely for a USA-based company. ... During 2017 to 2018, the son and his [Mexican JW] wife spent six months living in Russia. During this time, they witnessed and attended Jehovah's Witness meetings held secretly in their parents' apartment.

In April 2017, the Russian authorities closed the Kingdom Hall that the appellants attended. Following this, the congregation broke into smaller groups who would meet secretly in people's homes. One such group met in the appellants' apartment after May 2017. They would also connect with other groups online.

In February 2018, the husband was called to appear at the local police station. He went with his wife. He was advised that a customer had made a complaint ... saying they were involved in a scam. In July 2018, the appellants travelled to London by car via Belarus, Poland, Germany and France. After approximately one week, they returned by car via France, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland and Belarus. They did not claim refugee status at the time, as they were just taking a holiday to have time away from the stressful situation in Russia. ... In late March 2019, the appellants' neighbour, who was a member of a different Jehovah's Witness group, was holding a meeting in his apartment, when it was raided by the police. He and the group's members were arrested and taken away.

... in March 2019, the appellants, ... decided to book a holiday to Australia and New Zealand. They intended to remain outside of Russia ... moving between countries until they could obtain permanent residence in the USA under family reunification based on the daughter's American citizenship. She was entitled to sponsor them when she turned 21 years old. The appellants applied for visitor visas for New Zealand and Australia. The New Zealand visas were approved. In May 2019, the appellants departed Russia, without difficulties. In New Zealand, the appellants were met by Jehovah's Witnesses. Prior to their arrival in New Zealand, they had made contact with Russian-speaking Jehovah's Witnesses based here. ... 


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ROBERT A. GARRETT v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA was a 1974-80 Louisiana federal appellate court case. Reading about this lawsuit first will aid in understanding the second civil court case below.

Robert A. Garrett, a member of the Marine Corps, submitted his request for reenlistment on May 16, 1974. On July 4, 1974, Robert A. Garrett was involved in an altercation with members of the Military Police. When he appeared for reenlistment on July 19, Garrett was not allowed to reenlist but instead was placed on legal hold. His prior enlistment contract was extended for an additional two months, until approximately September 19, 1974. Formal charges were lodged against Garrett on July 25, but Garrett was never tried, and the charges against him were dropped on October 17, 1974. Garrett apparently was not then informed that the charges had been dropped and remained on legal hold until November 15, 1974. On that day, he was told that he was no longer on legal hold and had until 1:00 p. m. to reenlist. Garrett chose not to reenlist and was honorably discharged three days later. In summary, Robert A. Garrett's enlistment contract expired on September 19, 1974, but he was neither released nor discharged until about two months later.

Robert A. Garrett filed a complaint against the United States pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging that he had been illegally and negligently detained in the United States Marine Corps for two months between the expiration of his enlistment and his formal discharge. Robert Garrett sought compensation for lost benefits, $100,000.00 damages, attorney's fees, and costs. The USDC dismissed the complaint on the ground that the Government is not liable under the FTCA for injuries which arise out of or are in the course of activity incident to military service. On appeal, the USCA affirmed.

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ROBERT A. GARRETT SR, ROBERT A. GARRETT JR, AND DORA J. GARRETT v. STATE OF LOUISIANA, CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, ET AL was a 1987-94 Louisiana civil court case which resulted from a Jehovah's Witness ELDER family's altercation with state and local law enforcement. Curiously, the JW Elder, husband, and father claimed as part of his damages that this incident caused estrangement from his son, divorce from his wife, deletion or resignation as a JW Elder, and disfellowshipping or disassociation from the WatchTower religion. On appeal to the Louisiana Court of Appeals, Senior's jury award of $280,000.00 was reduced to a mere $245,000.00, while the trial court's awards to the Mother and Son were entirely vacated.

"The general damages award consisted of damages for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of consortium. Although the record reveals that plaintiff suffered a limited amount of physical pain and suffering, the record further shows that plaintiff suffered an enormous amount of mental anguish as a result of this incident. Following this incident, plaintiff was very upset and angry and saw a psychologist for over one year. Plaintiff testified that he was unable to work, unable to be a responsible parent or father, and unable to maintain relationships. Plaintiff stated he can no longer see police officers without becoming upset. Plaintiff stated that he and his wife were divorced as a result of this incident, and they had previously had a very close relationship. Plaintiff also stated that his relationship with his son had suffered greatly because his son had seen the entire incident and had told plaintiff he had acted like a "coward" in his dealings with the officers. In addition, plaintiff, a previously active member of the Jehovah Witness faith, was no longer able to serve as an elder of the church as a result of this incident and stopped participating in the church altogether. Plaintiff also testified that he suffered a great deal of self-doubt as a result of this incident and began drinking heavily in an effort to cope with the stress he experiences."

In October 1987, around 7:30 PM, Robert A. Garrett Sr. and his wife, Dora Garrett, were returning from the grocery store to their home in Algiers, Louisiana. Garrett was driving his truck in the left lane when he supposedly noticed a police vehicle with flashing emergency lights coming up behind him. Garrett claimed that he attempted to move over into the right lane, but was unable to do so because it was full. So, Garrett attempted to make a left turn across oncoming traffic, when his truck was struck "repeatedly" by a MRBA vehicle, which was being driven by defendant, Lon Fleetwood, an MRBA officer. (Interestingly, the Garrett home was only two blocks from that intersection.)

Garrett alleged that Fleetwood exited his car and began shouting obscenities at Garrett and his wife. Fleetwood demanded Garrett's license, which Garrett was unable to produce immediately. Both Garrett and JW Wife testified that Fleetwood refused to take Garrett's driver's license from Dora Garrett. Fleetwood ordered Garrett out of his truck, and then called for police assistance. Several additional MRBA vehicles and New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) vehicles arrived on the scene. Garrett alleged that he was placed up against the rear of his truck where he was "rammed" by Fleetwood, and "repeatedly beaten" by several of the officers on the scene.

"Someone" quickly notified the Garrett's sixteen year-old son, and he "quickly" ran to the scene. There, Junior assaulted Officer Fleetwood, and JW Wife had to be restrained from aiding Junior. Another MRBA officer attempted to break up the fight between Fleetwood and Junior. Senior then assaulted that second MRBA officer. Senior was restrained and allegedly beaten again by several officers, put in handcuffs, and placed in the rear seat of Fleetwood's vehicle. Junior also was  arrested by Fleetwood, and placed in the vehicle. The JW Duo were then transported to the MRBA office, where they were questioned by other MRBA officers. Garrett alleges that while at the MRBA office, he and his son were forced to remain in the backseat of the police vehicle for approximately four hours. Garrett claims that Fleetwood turned on the heater in the vehicle and left it running for some period of time. (It was nighttime on October 24.) Garrett also testified that Fleetwood intentionally slammed the car door on his leg while he was at the MRBA station.

Later that evening, Garrett was transported to Central Lockup, where he was booked and remained until the following afternoon. Junior was taken to a juvenile facility, where he remained for several hours. No criminal charges were brought against the Garretts, and the charges for Garrett's traffic violations were even dismissed. (Does anyone really believe that Garrett's status as a Jehovah's Witness Elder was not thrown around repeatedly during this incident, and such was the main reason for the dropping of all criminal charges, and even the large jury award?)


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Around 2005, a family of Jehovah's Witnesses perpetrated a financial fraud sometimes referred to as "planned bankruptcy". This Jehovah's Witness Family was headed by a "Matriarch" who was a well-educated government retiree who was receiving a sizable government pension. JW Matriarch was a THIRD GENERATION Jehovah's Witness, who also had been a lifelong DEADBEAT who had intentionally refused to repay many of her debts. Over the decades, JW Matriarch had become highly skilled at knowing which debts she could ignore without incurring legal action against her.

JW Matriarch had only one child -- a daughter -- who began imitating her JW Parents' financial strategies as soon as she married. In fact, it was the daughter who brought the scheme to her JW Parents, and convinced them to commit a speeded up "planned bankruptcy" before occurred impending unavoidable future bankruptcy for both households.

Both the JW Parents and the daughter and her husband began purchasing everything that they could using high-risk high-rate credit sources. They filled their houses with new clothing, appliances, electronics, furniture, etc., and even purchased the highest valued brand new automobiles for which they could find a stupid greedy lender. After the two families filed bankruptcy, repossessors of all the items stored indoors were simply avoided, while the new automobiles were kept parked inside their garages. The JWs eventually lost out to most repossessors, but only after having used the unpaid items for several years.

Jump ahead to around 2016, when 3G JW Matriarch was by then in her mid 70s. JW Matriarch's husband by then had died early at the age of 66, and Matriarch's daughter also had died prematurely in her early 30s. JW Matriarch's only grandchild (unmarried) had moved in with JW Matriarch in order to get out of the house of his own father and new stepmother.

Details are scattered, unclear, and uncertain, but around 2017, a credit-card company filed state financial fraud charges against the 21 year-old grandson, who stupidly had purchased several thousands of dollars of merchandise and had such shipped to the home which he shared with his JW Grandmother. Minimum payments on that credit card account apparently had stopped immediately after the spree of purchases. This turned out to be a fraud case, rather than an unpaid bill case, because the credit card used for the aformentioned multiple purchases was in the name of the grandson's Mother (Matriarch's daughter), who had been DEAD for nearly TEN YEARS, and the purchases had been made in the name of the deceased daughter.

JW Matriarch avoided also being charged due to the purchases clearly being unwanted or unneeded by a mid-70s female -- video games, automobile accessories, etc. However, in order to keep her 21 year-old grandson out of jail, JW Matriarch used her WatchTower Cult religion to perpetrate a fraud on the local County Prosecutor and County Judge by taking as much of the blame as was possible -- even fraudulently claiming that had given her grandson permission to make the purchases in question. In fact, the Grandson had only learned about the CC after rummaging through his elderly grandmother's mail, and discovering a biennial replacment CC in his own deceased mother's name -- which he re-activated. Grandson actually believed that since the issued CC was in the name of his deceased mother that he could not be held legally responsible for his purchases.  

Using the prestige of the government position from which she had retired, along with the prestige of being the elderly daughter of the oldest family of "Jehovah's Witnesses" in that county, JW Matriarch convinced the County Prosecutor and County Judge that she had kept active for nearly 10 years her deceased daughter's credit card as a part of her "grieving process". To allow her daughter's credit card account to terminate would have been like losing her daughter all over again. Apparently, the TWO FOOLS being completely ignorant regarding the pertinent religious beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses regarding "death" were TOO SCARED of a possible religious discrimination claim to even question JW Matriarch's OBVIOUS BULLSH!T.

Neither did the TWO FOOLS have even an inkling that JW Matriarch was a lifelong financial DEADBEAT. In fact, JW Matriarch and her husband had lost all their CC acounts during the bankruptcy more than a decade earlier, but for some reason, this one lone CC account belonging to the dead daughter (using her JW Parent's address) had never been cancelled, so JW Matriarch had kept up the minimum payments for years so that she had at least this single CC.  JW Matriarch had not known that if the minimum payments ever stopped, that investigators at the CC company would quickly discover that their account holder had been DEAD for nearly a decade.

In the end, as soon as the County Prosecutor received documentation from the CC company that the account had been paid in full, the fraud charges against the Grandson were dropped, and both the County Prosecutor and the County Judge continued believing that Jehovah's Witnesses are as forthright, truthful, and honest as the reputation that proceeds them.


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WINSTEAD ET AL v. JACQUELINE DAWES ET AL and I.R.S. v. JACQUELINE DAWES ET AL. In January 2020, WBIR-TV, in Knoxville, Tennessee, is reporting about a wealthy Jehovah's Witness Family originally from Perth, Scotland, who had constructed and operated a swanky "$49,000.00 per month" mental health and substance abuse treatment center in Seymour, Tennessee, named Brookhaven Retreat.

The Dawes Family -- Jacqueline Ann Dawes, age 60, and her son, Jonathan Mark Dawes, age 37 -- constructed the treatment facility around 2005. Brookhaven was closed in March 2019 -- reportedly leaving unpaid employees scrambling to pay their own bills, and sending five patients in mid treatment back home to deal with their unresolved mental health and substance abuse issues. WBIR reports that the Dawes Family owes the IRS $4.2 million in unpaid income taxes from the operation of Brookhaven. Pinnacle Bank reportedly received only $3.56 million after foreclosing on the Dawes Family home on which was still owed $4.8 million.

In May 2019, 21 former employees filed a lawsuit to recover their unpaid wages. However, the plaintiffs haven't been able to verify that they have served Jacqueline Dawes with legal papers because Jacqueline Dawes can't be located. The Dawes Family -- possibly now including father, Alan Kenneth Dawes, age 70 -- has been labeled as "elusive". That is until last week, when WBIR reported that Jacqueline Dawes might be living at WATCHTOWER FARMS in Wallkill, New York. Legal paperwork pertaining to Brookhaven has been accepted and signed for by someone at WATCHTOWER FARMS. However, a quick online search discloses that it is not Jacqueline A. Dawes who resides at WATCHTOWER FARMS, but rather her son and daughter-in-law, Jonathan Mark Dawes and Chloe Danielle Dawes -- both previous residents of Tennessee.

The Dawes family reportedly immigrated from Scotland to the Delray Beach, Florida area around 1998-99, shortly after the well publicized death of their teenage daughter due to a drug overdose. There are multiple media reports relating to proposed real estate development projects in Florida prior to the family relocating to Tennessee shortly thereafter in the early 2000s.

See also:

CAMPBELL ET AL v. BROOKHAVEN RETREAT LLC ET AL (2016) -- a previous employee lawsuit which was reportedly settled for around $175,000.00, but reportedly never paid.

RONALD CURTIS v. BROOKHAVEN LLC (2017) -- only one of multiple lawsuits filed by paid-ahead patients seeking a refund after closing.

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BAILEY CLEMMONS v. GUILFORD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE ET AL was a 2016-17 North Carolina federal court case in which a mid-20s female African-American Jehovah's Witness college student sued her college because ... well you have to read below to believe it.

Bailey Clemmons was enrolled in the Dental Assisting program at Guilford Technical Community College. On or about September 15, 2015, Bailey Clemmons was walking her dog, Penelope, near her home in Durham, North Carolina, when her dog was struck and killed by a car.

Thereafter, Bailey Clemmons sent a text message to her instructor, Sherry Shook, explaining: "Good morning, Mrs. Shook. This is Bailey. I won't be in class today. My sister died in a car accident this morning." Clemmons also sent a similar text to one of her classmates.

Sherry Shook personally contacted Bailey Clemmons that evening to offer her condolences. Clemmons thanked Shook for her consolation, responding, "It is not easy. Life is different now at home."

Clemmons missed the next two days of classes. As gestures of sympathy, Clemmons's classmates purchased a card and collected nearly $200.00 in honor of Bailey's deceased sister.

GTCC's Dental Assisting department chair emailed her condolences, and assured Clemmons that Clemmon's situation "certainly qualifies as an extenuating circumstance, so you will not be penalized for absences during this time. ... Stay with your family." Clemmons replied that she was in the process of making funeral arrangements.

Clemmons also reported to her instructors that there was going to be a memorial service for her sister at a local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses on September 18, 2015, and that she would be taking a few days off for "mental mollification". Clemmons also spoke to an administrative assistant in the Dental Assisting department and informed her that she had two sisters, Madison and Penelope, and that Penelope was the sister who died.

Clemmons quickly was reaching the maximum number of allowable absences without incurring an academic penalty. On multiple occasions, both Instructor Shook and the Director of the dental program inquired about an obituary and requested that Clemmons bring one to GTCC officials so that her absences could be excused. Clemmons agreed to do so.

About ten days into the charade, GTCC faculty discovered through Facebook that Penelope was not Clemmons's sister, but her dog. The Director of the dental program then filed a formal complaint charging that Bailey Clemmons had violated GTCC's Student Conduct Policy.

On October 2, 2015, GTCC's Chief Disciplinary Officer informed Clemmons of the claims against her and that he would be investigating. The CDO explained that Clemmons was alleged to have violated two provisions of the GTCC Student Conduct Policy: (1) forgery, alteration, or misuse of college documents, records, or instruments of identification providing false information to the college, and (2) violation of local, state, or federal criminal law on college premises.

Clemmons emailed the CDO on October 6, 2015, writing that she took full responsibility for the "miscommunication". The CDO and Clemmons met on October 7, when the CDO informed Clemmons that she was accused of providing false information to GTCC, stating falsely that her sister had died in a car accident. After that meeting, on October 23, the CDO determined that Clemmons had violated the Student Conduct Policy by providing false information to a college official, and placed Clemmons on restricted probation for four semesters.

On October 26, 2015, Clemmons appealed the CDO's decision to the GTCC Review Committee. A hearing for her appeal was set for November 3. Before the hearing, the CDO emailed Clemmons to inform her of the witnesses that GTCC officials would call, plus information concerning her rights during the hearing, including the right to have counsel present, the right to call witnesses, the right to present evidence, and the right to testify or refuse to testify. Clemmons also had the right to appeal the Review Committee's decision, but only for two grounds: (1) the severity of the penalty, or (2) an alleged violation of GTCC's procedures during the hearing or investigation. The CDO's email also explained that the Review Committee would determine appropriate sanctions, which would not be limited to those imposed by the CDO.

At the hearing, faculty and students testified that Clemmons told them that her 10 year-old sister had been killed. Faculty witnesses also expressed concerns about whether Clemmons could be trusted, especially during clinic rotations. 

At the hearing, Clemmons discussed the service held for her dog at a (unknown) local place of worship. However, on November 9, when asked about that service, Clemmons stated that there was no service; instead, a few individuals had convened to comfort her. Clemmons later argued that her hearing testimony was another "miscommunication". The Review Committee voted to suspend Clemmons until the fall 2016 semester. The Review Committee also mandated that Clemmons complete ethics training before re-enrolling.

Clemmons again appealed her decision to the Vice President of Student Support Services. That VP affirmed the Review Committee's decision, finding no violation of GTCC's procedures during the hearing or investigation and concluding that the sanction imposed was appropriate. Because Clemmons was suspended and could not complete her coursework, GTCC gave her failing grades for her incomplete courses.

In February 2016, Clemmons filed this lawsuit in state court against GTCC, which properly removed the case to federal court. Clemmons sought reversal and expungement of her long-term suspension, alteration of her failing grades to incomplete grades, a refund of any tuition paid to GTCC by or on her behalf, an injunction, and attorneys' fees. In July 2017, the USDC summarily DISMISSED all of Clemmons federal claims and remanded the case back to state court for whatever the state court wished to do with such. Outcome unknown.

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JAMES PAUL GUEVARA and LEONA GUEVARA v. WATCHTOWER SOCIETY, ELWYN DALE CRIST, VISTA CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, MOUNTAIN VIEW CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, MEADOWLAKE CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, COLLEGE PARK CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, FOOTHILLS CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, SUNSET CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, ET AL were a series of ever-changing California state civil lawsuits between 1984 and 1992, which involved by-then divorced plaintiffs.

James Paul Guevara was part of a large, extended family of Jehovah's Witnesses -- many being Elders or Pioneers. James P. Guevara was the son of George Guevara Sr., an Elder at even yet another Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in California, whom also may have had his own status in the WatchTower Cult theatened, if not terminated, due to the events related to these court cases. Another relative embroiled in these events is believed to have been a JW Elder named Arthur Guevara. This editor can't help but wonder whether the WatchTower Society's affection for Che Guevara back during the 1960s/70s was because Che Guevara was part of this extended Jehovah's Witness family?

James Guevara was the owner of a business which failed during the early 1980s, and was closed in 1982. Elwyn D. Crist was the husband of a fellow Jehovah's Witness, and an employee to whom Guevara owed previously earned "commissons". Elwyn Crist vigorously pursued Guevara to get his money. There was a hearing before the "Labor Relations Board" sometime around 1982, where Crist allegedly refused Guevara's settlement offer of monthly partial payments of $200.00. Crist allegedly communicated negatively with Guevara's customers and the companies represented by Guevara, and apparently to anyone else whom would listen.

By latter 1983, Paul Guevara had sought bankruptcy protection from his many creditors. Without sorting through both sides' allegations, simply know that Paul Guevara was ultimately disfellowshiped, in December 1983, on multiple grounds, including "fraud", lying, and reviling. That "fraud" did not pertain to Guevara's dealings with Crist, but rather pertained to Guevara's alleged promise to some Elders back in 1982 that Guevara would repay Crist.

James Guevara contended that the only "fraudsters" in this scenario were the multiple JW Elders in the multiple involved local congregations whom had conspired to force, using the threat of disfellowshipping, Guevara to defraud the bankruptcy court and the bankruptcy creditors by paying Crist outside the court system and ahead of the bankruptcy creditors. That allegedly only occurred after the multiple local Elders had failed to persuade Guevara's JW relatives to pay Elwyn Crist.

The Guevaras soon filed this series of lawsuits. Their defamation lawsuit against Dale Crist reportedly was settled before trial. The WatchTower Society managed to get itself dismissed from the lawsuit relating to damages caused by Paul Guevara's disfellowshipping. Some of the defamation and emotional distress lawsuits against the individual congregations and their roles in the disfellowshipping went to trial, but were non-suited after the plaintiffs had presented their case. We have found no successful appeal.

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INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE v. KENNETH WAYNE STEJSKAL SR. ET AL was a 2005 United States Tax Court decision. Kenneth W. Stejskal Sr. was a Jehovah's Witness Minister living in Hutchinson, Kansas, who during the early 1970s began to practice homeopathy, reflexology, iridology, etc. Later, in the 1980s-1990s, Ken Stejskal added the multi-level marketing (MLM) of various purported health products to his business operations. Among the MLM companies represented by Kenny Stejskal were Noni International and Nature's Sunshine, which both eventually had large numbers of distributors who were Jehovah's Witnesses. (Readers should not confuse JW Minister Ken Stejskal, of Kansas, with JW Minister Ken Roland, then of neighboring Oklahoma, who was Noni's first and largest distributor for many years.)

Affiliated entities included: Stejskal's Herb Shop, Stejskal Enterprises, Inc., Stejskal Enterprises Trust, Bio-Active Kansas Trust, Country Rose Holding Trust, and Total Health Center Trust. Around 1995, family members living in Texas opened an affiliated business in Corpus Christi. Kenny Stejskal Sr. retired in 1999, but retained ownership of the businesses. Ken Stejskal thereafter relocated to Corpus Christi, Texas. An online 2013 report still shows two "Stejskals" as being top Noni distributors.

In 2005, for tax year 1999 only, the U.S. Tax Court ruled that Stejskal owed additional taxes of $181,163.85, plus penalties of $241,551.80.

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE v. KENNETH WAYNE STEJSKAL SR. ET AL was a 2006 United States Tax Court case which related to tax years 2000 and 2001. For 2000, the IRS determined additional taxes in the amount of $106,252.00, plus penalties of $21,250.40. For 2001, the IRS determined additional taxes in the amount of $443,939.00, plus penalties of $88,787.80. Outcome unknown.

How in the world could a Jehovah's Witnesses owned-operated MLM Vitamin - Herbals business generate that much annual income? Here is a publicly posted summary of a telephone conversation with "Dr." Kenneth Stejskal, which reportedly occurred in 1998 (emphasis ours):

8-11-98 Conversation with Dr. Kenneth Stejskal, Clinic in Hutchison, Kansas -- Homeopathic, Holistic

Hello Everyone ... Something great to share with you! Hope you are as excited about what we've found in Noni as we are! While in Colorado I heard from another Noni distributor that this doctor, Dr. Kenneth Stejskal, has a clinic and he is giving patients Noni and Hoa 1 and 2. Their bodies, because of being cleansed of toxins and fed the right nutrients, are working at full capacity and have eliminated cancer, Alzheimers, diabetes, and all types of physical ailments from them! Patients have returned to him with the news that they've rid their bodies of breast tumors in 10 days, brain tumors that were inoperable in 30 days using a bottle of Noni everyday - cat scans showed no sign of a tumor.

When a patient comes to him he attacks the root cause of the ailment with detoxifiers (found in Noni). He says the ailment doesn't start on its own - it's either chemical imbalance or heavy metal. Once detoxified and the immune system is restored, the body will take care of the problem.

Dr. Stejskal worked with Gilbert Nordan this last year using Noni and Noni Hoa and two weeks ago Gilbert got a clean bill of health from the hospital -- No HIV!!! Dr. Stejskal says his cancer patients use a bottle a day for 4 days, then another bottle for 4 days, then 8 oz. a day plus Noni Hoa until they get a clean bill of health. Average has been in 21 days for his patients.

He says chemotherapy is very bad for our bodies. He has been in cancer research since 1975 and has associated with over 2,000 doctors worldwide.

Since 1972 he has treated 19,000 plus different types of illness.

Since 1987 when he began treating terminally ill cancer patients (people sent home to die) he's treated around 8,000 terminally ill and only lost 64 patients!

He was written up in a medical journal as one of the top 5 diagnostic doctors in the world. He says it's not that he is (so great) he just uses the "horse sense" he grew up with on the farm. He was very helpful and very concerned throughout our conversation, which I might add was on his phone bill and more than an hour long. How many doctors spend that much time with a stranger when they have nothing to gain????

Getting back to Dr. Stejskal saying chemotherapy is bad for our bodies, he says the two doctors that invented chemotherapy were using a micro amount, just enough to make the body respond to it so the body would kick up the immune system to fight the chemo and that would trigger a response big enough to overcome the problem. The AMA came in and told them they have to use massive doses to make sure the cancer wouldn't return. The doctors told the AMA that is dangerous but they wouldn't listen and even threatened to take their licenses unless they used massive doses so, the inventors of chemotherapy don't use it because they don't want to be blood guilty.

Now, tens of thousands are dying, not from the cancer, but from pneumonia caused by their immune system weakened by chemotherapy. Chemotherapy causes different things to happen to the body according to how much the doctor is administering and how the body reacts to the toxins. People lose their hair and become very sick because their bodies are working extremely hard to clean out the chemicals. That's why it's necessary to get people on Noni and Noni Hoa, to help them overcome the effects of chemotherapy.

Dr. Stejskal talked about getting diabetics off insulin in 3 weeks. They take 1 ounce daily for one week, 2 ounces daily for one week, 3 ounces daily for one week (but necessary to adjust according to sugar level; it must be monitored while on Noni).

Alcoholics and smokers quit with Noni and Noni Hoa. He says their bodies are lacking some important chemicals or element so they crave drugs and using the complete system compensates for the missing components.

He also said to be careful with depressed people on pain killers, adding Noni could cause them mental problems, (presumably because it enhances other medications)! Also, people on a lot of drugs, prescriptions and others, will release a lot of toxic chemicals from the liver that have built up and these can dump out and sedate the colon, causing constipation. He says just use an herbal laxative and drink lots of water.

He ended the call with if we need help and he's not too busy he will help all he can. He's so busy he's not taking new patients so I feel privileged to have had this informative conversation with such a special doctor! I hope you enjoyed this letter. I can't wait to do great things with you as a team!

Geno and Barb Blagg

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FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL v. ROBERT SIMON OESTERLUND, SARAH LOUISE PURSGLOVE, SUNPLUS CREDIT, INC. DBA NATIONAL BANKCARDS, and CREDIT-KEY EXPRESS, INC. was a 1999-2000 Florida lawsuit filed against a U.S. resident Finnish citizen named Robert S. Oesterlund and his British citizen wife, Sarah L. Pursglove. (HOW TO HIDE $400 MILLION, New York Times, 2016) Born in Finland in 1972, Robert Oesterlund reportedly was reared in a Jehovah's Witness Family. Oesterlund and Pursglove met on a cruise in 1995, and thereafter established a direct mail marketing business in Sweden. Soon thereafter, in 1996, the couple relocated to California, where they started an online business called, SLP EXPRESSCREDIT, INC. Soon thereafter, in 1997, the couple relocated from California to Florida and started the first of reportedly 40 online businesses.

In 1999, Florida's Attorney General filed a complaint against Oesterlund and his businesses for violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It alleged that the defendants engaged in the business of advertising and promoting the ability of consumers, many of whom had bad credit, to obtain a credit card for a FEE ranging from $29.00 to $89.00. It further alleged that the defendants misled consumers into believing they would receive a pre-approved credit card, and then provided them, instead, with a list of banks to apply to for credit. Simultaneous with the complaint, the Attorney General filed a motion for temporary injunction without notice. The district court granted the temporary injunction without notice, and without requiring the Attorney General to post a bond. It barred the defendants from contacting or selling such services or products to Florida consumers. The order also froze all bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, surety bonds, and other investment accounts of the individual and corporate defendants until further order. The next day, the temporary injunction was modified by agreed order which released certain accounts from the injunction. On defendants' appeal, the Florida Court of Appeals affirmed in February 2000.

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ATTORNEYS GENERAL IN 26 STATES v. DIRECTORY BILLING LLC was a 2007-08 multi-state lawsuit brought by Attorneys General in 26 states against Directory Billing LLC, which did business as USDirectory.com, of Boca Raton, Florida. Neither Oseterlund's nor Pursglove's name appear in legal records pertaining to Directory Billing LLC, but Directory Billing LLC's address and telephone numbers were shared with other Oesterlund businesses. Also, Oesterlund employee, Frederick Mcowen Middleton, was the Managing Partner of this limited liability company. The lawsuits alleged that Directory Billing LLC misled small businesses into signing up for yellow pages listings by using "activation checks". The suit claimed that Directory Billing LLC mailed checks in small amounts, usually $3.25, to small businesses, which contained legal disclosures printed too small to be noticed. Upon cashing the checks, the businesses were automatically enrolled in a yellow pages ad service and charged between $30.00 and $50.00 a month, which were either directly deducted from their bank accounts or added to their monthly telephone bills. All 26 lawsuits were settled for a total of only $400,000.00. Directory Billing LLC agreed to stop using checks to market its services and send letters to all current customers giving them a chance to cancel service and get a partial refund.

***

FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL v. SMART SAVINGS CENTER, LLC; RSOP HOLDINGS LLC; RSOP HOLDINGS DELAWARE LLC; XACTI LLC; XACTI GLOBAL, LLC; REBATEGIANT.COM, LLC; DISCOUNT MOVIE SALE LLC; DISCOUNTPOSTERSALE.COM LLC; DISCOUNT BOOK SALE, LLC; BESTBRANDVALUES.COM LLC; SMARTSAVINGSCENTERCOM LLC; HOTBOOKSALE.COM LLC; HOTMOVIESALE.COM LLC; BEST BUYER DISCOUNTS, LLC; ROYALARCADE.COM, LLC; and NUVACEUTICAL LLC was a 2010 settlement agreement with the FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL promising to abstain from deceptive marketing practices and pay $7,000.00.

FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL v. SMART SAVINGS CENTER, LLC; RSOP HOLDINGS LLC; RSOP HOLDINGS DELAWARE LLC; XACTI LLC; XACTI GLOBAL, LLC; REBATEGIANT.COM, LLC; DISCOUNT MOVIE SALE LLC; DISCOUNTPOSTERSALE.COM LLC; DISCOUNT BOOK SALE, LLC; BESTBRANDVALUES.COM LLC; SMARTSAVINGSCENTERCOM LLC; HOTBOOKSALE.COM LLC; HOTMOVIESALE.COM LLC; BEST BUYER DISCOUNTS, LLC; ROYALARCADE.COM, LLC; and NUVACEUTICAL LLC was a 2013 settlement agreement with the ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA promising to abstain from deceptive marketing practices and pay $500,000.00.

***

IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL v. ROBERT OESTELUND ET AL was a 2012-13 settlement agreement with theIOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL promising to abstain from deceptive marketing practices and pay nearly $135,000.00.

***

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE v. ROBERT OESTERLUND, FREDERICK M. MIDDLETON, ET AL was a 2013 settlement with Oregon DOJ in which Oseterlund and his businesses agreed to refund more than $252,000.00 in membership fees it improperly charged 5,233 Oregonians since 2008, and pay $300,000.00 to the Department of Justice. Best Brand Values and a host of related companies sold heavily discounted books, movies and other goods on the internet. During the course of these transactions, often when customers clicked on a blinking "free shipping" icon, they were automatically enrolled in a shopping club. Afterward, the company electronically billed the credit, debit card or bank account $10.00-$20.00 a month. Best Brand Values and several affiliate companies do business in Oregon through the following websites: BestBrandValues.com, SmartSavingsCenter.com, Nuvalife.com, DiscountBookSale.com, Discount MovieSale.com, DiscountPosterSale.com, TopMusicZone.com, HotBookSale.com, HotMovieSale.com and SmartGameShopper.com.

***

FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL v. SMART SAVINGS CENTER was a 2015-16 Florida court case in which Smart Savings Center LLC was held in civil contempt of court for willfully, intentionally, and in bad faith refusing to comply with court orders to produce documents, computer records, emails, etc.


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AS SEEN ON "AMERICAN PICKERS"

Marty Wheeler Stevens, his wife Lois Ann (Conn) Stevens, and their only child, Michael Lee Stevens, own LYING LEE'S USED CARS, which has two sales locations in Morehead, Kentucky and Ashland, Kentucky. The Ashland location of LYING LEE'S is managed by a "brother" of Lois Stevens, named Darrell Wayne CONN, who allegedly at that time was an Elder/MS at the Olive Hill, Kentucky Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In July 2013, dozens of law enforcement officers with the FBI, IRS, Kentucky State Police, Louisville Metro Police, and the Rowan County Sheriff's Department, plus private agents of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), armed with search warrants, swarmed two residential and three business properties owned or occupied by Marty Stevens, Lois Stevens, and Michael Stevens. Business records, miscellaneous personal property, and several alleged stolen or improperly documented vehicles were confiscated from the two LYING LEE'S USED CARS sales lots. Outcome unknown.

KENTUCKY v. MARTY W. STEVENS. Marty W. Stevens, then age 57, of Morehead, Kentucky, had previously been arrested and indicted in 2012 and earlier in 2013 on charges of Theft by Deception -- Over $10,000.00 and Receiving Stolen Property -- Over $10,000.00. Outcome unknown.

KENTUCKY v. DARRELL WAYNE CONN. Darrell W. Conn, then age 49, of Olive Hill, Kentucky, was arrested at the Ashland LYING LEE'S sales location on the day of the raid for allegedly possessing a stolen firearm, and Darrell Conn was formally charged with RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY -- FIREARM. Outcome unknown.

Michael Lee Stevens, age 39, of Morehead, Kentucky, died at home in August 2015 of a "suspected" drug overdose. Michael Stevens received a "funeral home funeral" conducted by an "out-of-town" Jehovah's Witness Elder from the nearby Olive Hill Kentucky Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, named Markus Giese.

KENTUCKY v. MICHAEL LEE STEVENS was a JUNE 2015 arrest for PUBLIC INTOXICATION - DRUGS.

KENTUCKY v. MICHAEL LEE STEVENS was a NOVEMBER 2014 arrest for PUBLIC INTOXICATION and DISORDERLY CONDUCT.

KENTUCKY v. MICHAEL LEE STEVENS was a APRIL 2013 arrest for DUI, NO INSURANCE, and LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT.

***

NOTES ON "AMERICAN PICKERS" SEGMENT

Marty Stevens was "picked" by Mike and Frank at his Morehead, Kentucky LYING LEE'S USED CARS location in Fall 2012 -- about 9 months before the aforementioned "bust". We paid little attention to this short segment when it was originally aired in 2013, but when the re-run unexpectedly popped up in June 2016, we paid much closer attention because of the by-then known "Jehovah's Witness" connection. We still missed how Mike and Frank got this "lead", but the now widely known FACT that Danielle Colby was reared as one of Jehovah's Witnesses makes us somewhat "suspicious" that there was a JW connection somewhere in the fact that Mike and Frank wound up picking this isolated eastern Kentucky used car lot back in 2012.

Then, at the very end of the edited segment, as Mike and Frank were leaving LYING LEE'S, Mike Wolfe shook the hand of Marty Stevens, and stated (paraphrased), "It sure was nice to meet a 'BROTHER IN JUNK'." Maybe such was just a coincidental choice of verbiage, or maybe there is more than has been told regarding Danielle Colby's and Mike Wolfe's pre-AP relationship, and maybe Danielle Colby is not the only AP cast member (or production employee) who has past or current ties to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Noted that Danielle's JW Mother has appeared one or more times on AP.

***

2017 UPDATE

In latter December 2016, Marty Stevens, his employed brother-in-law, Darrell Conn, and relative/employee Randall Conn, were finally indicted on a combined 14 alleged criminal charges. Local police reportedly alleged that the Stevens' and Conns' businesses were a "front" for a "chop shop" operation.

KENTUCKY v. MARTY WHEELER STEVENS. Marty W. Stevens, age 61, of Morehead, Kentucky, was indicted on charges of Receiving Stolen Firearm, Trafficking in Stolen Vehicles or Parts, Obscuring the Identity of a Machine, Possession of a Defaced Firearm, and second degree Forgery. Outcome pending.

KENTUCKY v. DARRELL WAYNE CONN. Darrell Conn, age 53, of Olive Hill. Kentucky, was indicted on charges of Receiving Stolen Firearm, Obscuring the Identity of a Machine, and second degree Forgery. Outcome pending.

KENTUCKY v. RANDALL CONN. Employee/relative Randall Conn, age 65, of Olive Hill, Kentucky, was indicted on four counts of second degree Forgery. Outcome pending. 

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A tipster reports that, back around 1970, the WatchTower Society's then most prominent JW ELDER (then "Congregation Servant") living in the greater Lexington, Kentucky area was arrested during a multi-state federal investigation of automobile thefts and "chop shop" operations. JW ELDER, his regular Pioneer wife, and two Pioneer daughters reportedly were THE most prominent JW Family in their Circuit -- one or more always having parts on the then two annual Circuit Assemblies, and occasionally having parts on the summer WatchTower District Conventions. Prominent JW Elder was disfellowshipped due to adverse media publicity, and made to wait approximately three years or longer before his reinstatement. Tipster reports that JW ELDER received ZERO prison time, and believes that such was due to JW ELDER's turning on and testifying against his fellow co-conspirators. Tipster further reports something even more interesting, which evidences what type "character" was had by this PROMINENT JW ELDER. Tipster claims that after JW ELDER's illegal auto body repair business operations were shut down that JW ELDER went to work for one of JW ELDER's co-conspirators whom had somehow escaped being caught up in the FBI's net. That allowed JW ELDER and his pioneering family to move several counties away to "where the need was great". Tipster further claims that after JW ELDER was reinstated, and after all the prosecutions were over, that ELDER then relocated his JW Family back to the greater Lexington, Kentucky area, where he resumed normal business operations. Tipster claims that even after all of the above, the two daughters married into prominent Kentucky JW Families. Both the two daughters and parents eventually purchased homes in Florida -- splitting their time between both Florida and Kentucky. Apparently, auto body shops are quite lucrative.


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KENTUCKY v. IRVIN THOMAS WILSON JUNIOR and JO ANN WILSON was a 1983 Kentucky prosecution of a Jehovah's Witness Couple named Irvin T. Thomas Jr, age 22, and his wife, Jo Ann Wilson, age 21, of New Albany, Indiana, who owned and operated A-1 PET CITY across the river in Louisville, Kentucky. The Wilsons were indicted on charges of THEFT BY DECEPTION -- six counts against Irvin Thomas, and five counts against Jo Ann Wilson. Allegedly, between June 1982 and February 1983, the Wilsons had defrauded seven Louisville-area banks and savings and loan institutions by depositing worthless business and personal checks, and then withdrawing cash before the banks learned that the checks the Wilsons had deposited were worthless. Outcome unknown.

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UNITED STATES v. IRVIN THOMAS WILSON JUNIOR was a 1990-92 Indiana federal COUNTERFEITING prosecution which involved a family of Jehovah's Witnesses living in Jeffersonville, Indiana. In September 1990, the SECRET SERVICE began investigating the distribution of counterfeit $20.00 bills in the greater Lousiville, Kentucky area, which included the southern Indiana cities of Jeffersonville, Clarksville, and New Albany. The Secret Service quickly arrested a southern Indiana resident named Frederick E. Adkins while he was passing the phony money in Kentucky. Adkins had $80,000.00 of counterfeit $20.00 bills in his possession. Adkins quickly explained that he was getting the counterfeit $20.00 bills from Irvin Thomas Wilson, Junior, and quickly cut a deal to help the Secret Service to catch Wilson. During the next few days, Adkins obtained secret audio recordings of his dealings with Wilson, as well as additional samples.

An unidentified THIRD informant told the Secret Service that Wilson was going to remove or destroy evidence which was located at Wilson's Jeffersonville, Indiana, pet store called PET PARADISE, which was actually owned by his Jehovah's Witness Parents, but operated by Junior. So, on a Sunday morning in mid-October 1990, at around 4:00 A.M., agents from both the SECRET SERVICE and the FBI surrounded PET PARADISE and waited on Junior to arrive. When Junior arrived, the agents identified themselves, but Junior attempted to flee. Junior struck with his automobile an FBI automobile which contained at least one FBI Agent, and thereafter struck a Secret Service Agent on foot. The agents opened fire on Junior, and he was struck by bullets in both shoulders, his neck, and his left hand. Junior was transported to Humana Hospital in Louisville, where Junior refused to consent to a blood transfusion. Poor Junior then had to be transported to Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis, which was capable of providing this devout Jehovah's Witness with "no-blood" medical procedures. On that Sunday morning, the SECRET SERVICE discovered $17,000.00 in counterfeit $20.00 bills inside PET PARADISE. The Secret Service returned to PET PARADISE three days later and confiscated a color copier and a cartridge of green ink hidden in the drop ceiling.

In 1991, Irvin T. Wilson, then age 30, went to trial and was convicted of conspiring to counterfeit currency and assaulting federal officers. Wilson was sentenced to a mere 78 months in prison -- followed by a three-year term of supervised release. All appeals denied.

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PET PARADISE INC. ET AL v. USDA was a somewhat related 1991-95 Indiana federal court case which involved the pet store and the Jehovah's Witness Parents discussed above. This case somewhat explains what kind of people were these Jehovah's Witnesses -- parents and child -- particularly their financial honesty/dishonesty. This 1995 case arose out of the USDA's 1989 suspension of PET PARADISE'S exotic animals license issued by the USDA, as well as the accompanying $5000.00 fine. The fine and the suspension were the result of the "two-year history of repeated and grave violations, willful refusal to correct the violations and meet the applicable standards, and a general absence of good faith demonstrated by repeatedly ignoring warnings after numerous inspections."

Irvin Thomas Wilson SENIOR blamed everything on his incarcerated son, whom Senior claimed was merely a "tenant" at the store. In fact, it was Senior who had applied for the exotic animals license from the USDA, and the license was issued to him as an individual. (Does anyone else get the feeling that Senior and Junior had been interchanging names and identities over the years???) Interestingly, in 1989, this business which specialized in exotic animals such as African lions, Bengal tigers, black bears, monkeys, porcupines and prairie dogs, only reported $11,468.00 GROSS SALES to the USDA despite the fact that USDA classified this business as "moderate" in size.

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ELLEY v. BLACK HILLS POWER was a 2004-05 South Dakota court case in which landowners sued their local utility company for damages to their trees caused by improper/excessive tree trimming done by the utility company's tree-trimming subcontractor, WILLSON'S TREE SERVICE, INC., of Spearfish, South Dakota, which is owned and operated by a Jehovah's Witness Elder named Jack H. Willson, of the Spearfish South Dakota Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. In July 2004, BHP served a Third Party Complaint against Willson's Tree Service, Inc. for contribution and/or indemnification. Outcome unknown.

Unrelated to that lawsuit is a confident competitor's webpage which alleges that Willson's Tree Service, Inc. has repeatedly"misleadingly" advertised that it employs "certified professional arborists", and that "Willson's false claims of 'certified arborist' have been the cause of actions brought against him by the International Society of Arboriculture. That webpage also contains supposed evidence of Willson's Tree Service allegedly having damaged customer's trees.

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NIGERIAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ROMANCE SCAM (2005). It has been reported to us that one or more Nigerians -- who is/are extremely familiar with the beliefs and practices of the WatchTower religion -- have been successfully scamming a number of Jehovah's Witnesses living in the United States who have been too ashamed of their gullibility to report such to the WatchTower Society, or even to law enforcement. The scams include a variety of appeals for money, including the SUCCESSFUL appeal made during the following online romance SCAM reported to us by one of the victim's relatives.

In the mid-2000s, a recently widowed, highly-educated, third-generation Jehovah's Witness Female, who was also a recently retired elementary schoolteacher, reportedly began an online romance with someone claiming to be a Jehovah's Witness Male living in Nigeria. Nigerian JW Male claimed to have a high-paying job working on offshore oil-drilling platforms. The online romance rapidly advanced to the point that Nigerian JW Male agreed to use his vacation time to travel to the United States to get personally acquainted with JW Widow, her family, and her local congregation. However, only a few days or so before his planned airline departure date, Nigerian JW Male emailed JW Widow to inform her that his trip to the United States had to be postponed for at least another six months, or possibly one year, until Nigerian JW Male had again built up sufficient vacation time. The reason? There had been a glitch with his employer's monthly direct payroll deposit --- delaying that direct deposit until after his departure date. Nigerian JW Male had already emptied his bank account getting all his bills paid up before he left for the United States. Nigerian JW Male had been counting on this latest monthly payroll deposit, which included his vacation pay, to pay for his merely "reserved" airlines tickets and other necessary travel expenses. JW Widow would not confess if she offered first, or tell if Nigerian JW Male asked first, but as most readers have already suspected, JW Widow ended up wiring "several thousands" of dollars to Nigerian JW Male. JW Widow never heard from Nigerian JW Male again once the money had been picked up. One can only wonder how many other lonely American Jehovah's Witness Females have fallen for this Nigerian's scam, or whether this scam has evolved to the point where American Jehovah's Witness Males are being scammed by Nigerians also posing as online females.

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UNITED STATES v. JERRY ELO IKOGHO ET AL is an ongoing 2019-20 California federal criminal prosecution of a large Nigerian "mafia family" which has been scamming and stealing from American citizens, banks, and other businesses for a decade. In August 2019, a 262-count federal grand jury indictment was unsealed charging 80 Nigerians living in the United States, Nigeria, and elsewhere with defrauding victims out of $10 million, or more. Considered one of the ringleaders, Jerry Ikogho was arrested in Masschusetts and charged with International Money Laundering.

Readers likely are familiar with the phony business propositions which have flooded email accounts for years, as well as the phony romance scams such as the one above. Scammers have moved on to more sophisticated scams in which business email accounts are hacked allowing the scammers to familiarize themselves with business personel, responsibilities, and activities, which further allows the scammers to convince business personel to wire to them large sums of money as payment for supposed goods and/or services. Business Email Compromise (BEC) is now amounting to nearly $2 BILLION annually.

Appearing third on the list of scammers is naturalized U.S. Citizen Jerry Elo Ikogho, age 30s, who is known to have been reared in a prominent Nigerian Jehovah's Witness Family. Jerry Ikogho allegedly was visited in 2019 at his California home by one of his Jehovah's Witness childhood friends who is now a high Nigerian government official.

However, the rats have hid in their holes, and just as with many similar instances in the past, active JWs likely have warned inactive family members to keep quiet about past WatchTower Cult ties if they wish to ever again have a relationship with them. One can only wonder how many members of this Nigerian "mafia family" were trained as children to LIE and DECEIVE, while "looking people straight in their eyes", while offering WatchTower Cult literature to strangers at their homes.

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In the mid-1990s, an "artist" hired a 3rd generation Jehovah's Witness to provide "value-added" services to much of that artist's unsold intellectual property so that "art" could be profitably marketed. That project ended up being a several years' long process during which the artist died. The artist's family and other heirs were reportedly unaware of the business arrangement with the JW, and had no clue to where the "art" had disappeared. Knowing such, 3GJW did not return the artist's property to the estate. Allegedly, within only a few years after the death of the artist, 3GJW began to market as their own creation the "value-added" form of the better quality property, and later, even the lesser quality property in its essentially original form.

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ANA M. FRANCIS v. UNITED AIRLINES was a 2012-14 Colorado federal employment discrimination lawsuit brought by an African-Hispanic female Jehovah's Witness named Ana M. Francis, of Aurora, Colorado, after she was terminated from her position as a flight attendant for stealing food and drink from an airplane. Ana Francis began working for United Airlines in 1995. On June 6, 2011, Ana Francis, then age 56, was assigned as a standby flight attendant at Denver International Airport. While awaiting an assignment, Francis was videotaped waiting for an airplane which had just arrived to empty of passengers and crew, and then entering that empty airplane to which she was not assigned. Francis took a chicken wrap, a salad, and a bottle of water from that plane's galley, and exited the airplane. While still aboard the airplane, Francis was discovered by another UAL employee who reported her presence on the plane. The following investigation led to Francis being placed on administrative leave the following day, and terminated in July 2011. In February 2012, Ana M. Francis filed a federal lawsuit alleging racial, gender, and age discrimination. In August 2014, the USDC granted summary judgment for United Airlines.

Amusingly, the USDC footnoted that it had received a personal letter from Francis one week before it had released its already reached decision, in which Francis attempted to sway the court's decision by once again relating her version of events, PLUS relating to the court that SHE IS A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS. Francis apparently believes the WatchTower Society's propaganda that "the world" holds "Jehovah's Witnesses" in higher esteem for their beliefs and practices of "honesty" than just regular folks. The USDC further noted that it had disregarded the contents of Francis' ex parte letter.

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CROWN v. SAM TREE and CROWN v. JOAN TREE were 2012-14 British criminal court cases involving two of multiple individuals in the United States and Great Britain prosecuted and/or convicted for operating pretty much the same INTERNATIONAL FRAUD SCAM of manufacturing and selling fake, useless Detection Devices advertised and sold to mainly law enforcement and military customers across the world for MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. The scam originated in the United States, but after being shut down by the U.S. government, it was brought to England by Samuel Tree in the mid 1990s. There, the scam widened as Sam Tree "franchised" the scam to others -- possibly including individuals who also may have had connections to the WatchTower Society or the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Arrested in 2012, the Trees were prosecuted separately from four of their "franchisees" (three convicted and one not), and were themselves convicted in July 2014. In October 2014, Sam Tree, age 68, was sentenced to 42 months in prison. Joan Tree, age 62, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, but her sentence was "suspended", and she was ordered to perform "community service".

The numerous different models of these fake Detection Devices were generally manufactured by the scammers themselves. The fake Detection Devices generally consisted of a small metal or plastic box with a handle and small "rabbit ears" television antenna attached to the top of the box. Some boxes opened and others had a slot in which a piece of "programmed" paper could be inserted inside the otherwise empty box, which had no interior parts nor power source. The boxes supposedly were powered by "static electricity" generated by the operator. The boxes generally cost only $10.00-$20.00 to manufacture, but were sold for hundreds and even thousands of dollars each. Interestingly, prosecution of the scammers was hampered by the fact that some of the lesser intelligent scammers may have genuinely been convinced that the devices actually worked -- similar to the way a"Water Witch" uses a "dowsing rod" to locate water.

The WatchTower Society's "Quick-Build" Kingdom Halls were an only slightly less "slight-of-hand" publicity scam. For decades, millions of people across the planet, including Jehovah's Witnesses, were "conned" into believing that the WatchTower Society's Regional Building Committees were able to construct Kingdom Halls during a single weekend. Actually, much of the ground level work was performed weeks and months in advance, with the walls, roof sections, and interior components pre-staged for erection and installation in two days. Many of those 2-day "Quick Build" LEMONS were poorly constructed and later experienced mold, mildew, and other problems. Over the past decade, many of those LEMONS have been quietly sold off to unwitting buyers.

Europe's first "quick-build" Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses was recently constructed in Northampton, England. Laboring round the clock, Witness work crews, made up of more than 500 volunteers, turned a foundation in an open field into a completed building in three and a half days. Is speed of construction the Witnesses' main objective? "The aim," says local elder Sam Tree as quoted in Northampton's Chronicle and Echo, "was to get the building work out of the way as soon as possible so that we could get on with our preaching work." -- AWAKE! 12/22/83, p29.

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The never-baptized Daughter of a a third-generation JW Mother and non-JW father relates the time that Daughter pulled the fake scratch-off lottery ticket scam on her own frequently hypocritical JW Mother. To fully comprehend this story, readers need to understand who is the unquestionable "boss" of this small clan. Non-JW father was illiterate when divorced JW Mother first met him and broke up his first marriage, and he was still illiterate when he retired 35 years later after working a lifetime of minimum wage jobs. In contrast, JW Mother was a career educator who was working on her Ph.D when she retired. Her earnings were roughly 85% of the family's lifetime earnings.
 
The time was the early 2000s -- only a few years or so after Daughter had married and had her only child. At that time, Daughter, her non-JW husband, and their young child, had gotten in the routine of spending nearly every Saturday evening at the home of the Daughter's parents -- visiting, watching rented videos, eating carryout, etc. At some point in this routine, Daughter and her also non-JW husband also began to purchase a lottery ticket for the 11:05 PM Saturday night drawing. The combined families not only started routinely watching the lottery drawing on TV, but such became the climax of every Saturday evening's festivities after her parents gradually started having Daughter also pick up a "quick-pick" lottery ticket for them. Daughter relates that her JW Mother initially put forth the required half-hearted JW protest, but gradually became as much of a fan of the weekly routine as was the rest of the family. JW Mother even would sometimes remind her own non-JW husband to not forget to give Daughter extra money for the purchase of their own ticket for the Saturday night drawing. At some point, Daughter and her husband also began to purchase multiple scratch-off lottery tickets to serve as "appetizers" for earlier in their Saturday evening routine. At some point, the two families had also come to a verbal agreement that all winnings from either type of lottery tickets would be split equally between them.

On the Saturday night in question, Daughter and husband left her parent's home to go rent a video, pick up carryout food, and pickup several dollars worth of regular and scratch-off lottery tickets. It was during this routine weekly trip that Daughter also decided to purchase one of the FAKE $10,000.00 winning scratch-off lottery tickets to give to her JW Mother, who had HYPOCRITICALLY been scratching off some of the tickets for the several past weeks. Daughter looked forward to a night of amusement at the JW HYPOCRITE'S expense, and paying her JW Mother back for just some of the WatchTower S**T that the Daughter had had been put through over the years.

After eating in front of the television in the living room, Daughter's husband went and collected the purchased scratch-off tickets and passed out 3 tickets to each person -- making sure that JW Mother received the winning $10,000.00 ticket. Daughter and her husband struggled to keep straight faces as they scratched off their own tickets and waited for JW Mother to explode with excitement as JW Mother scratched off the $10,000.00 winner.

Daughter and husband tried to covertly watch as JW Mother's eyes widened when she saw the first $10,000.00 imprint. JW Mother struggled to restrain herself as she saw the second $10,000.00 imprint. However, by the time that JW Mother scratched off the third $10,000.00 imprint, JW Mother was displaying a stiff poker face -- she gave no outward reaction whatsoever. JW Mother boldly announced that none of her tickets were winners as she slid her three scratched tickets down into an adjacent magazine rack full of magazines.

Daughter and husband were each totally befuddled as they each independently struggled how to respond to JW Mother's obvious DECEPTION. After a few minutes of attempting to carry on normally with the evening, Daughter finally jumped up and told husband and father to hand her their losing tickets so that she could go throw them in the trash. When JW Mother made no effort to hand over her tickets, Daughter specifically asked for them. JW Mother told daughter, "Oh, I stuck them down there somewhere inside that pile of magazines. Don't worry about 'em. I'll throw 'em away later."

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During the 1930s to 1960s, the ESTEP family of East Bernstadt, Kentucky, were at times either the only or the main family of Jehovah's Witnesses living in Laurel County, Kentucky. Typical of many multi-generation families of Jehovah's Witnesses, fewer and fewer members of the ESTEP family chose to remain inside the WatchTower Cult as the decades wore on.

 
A member of that ESTEP family vaguely recollects some of the older family members, who were hardcore Jehovah's Witnesses, relating tales of multiple and different "representatives" of the WatchTower Society -- "Pioneers", "Special Pioneers", and even "Circuit Servants" -- being sent to Laurel County ("unassigned territory") over the decades to assist with proselytizing work (selling WatchTower literature), who stayed in the ESTEP home during their time in Laurel County. ESTEP Family Member vaguely recollects several stories told by family members about some of those WatchTower representatives who created problems with locals due to their untactful and even disrespectful door-to-door preaching methods. Some ESTEP family members were even chastised for being "too nice" and "not aggressive enough" in the door-to-door ministry. Those disrespectful "JW Jerks" knew that they were only in the county for a few days, weeks, or months, before leaving and never returning, while the ESTEP family stayed behind and had to live with the locals who the JW Jerks had stirred up.
 
ESTEP Family Member further relates that the straw that finally broke the camel's back which caused some of the first few ESTEP family members to begin to see Jehovah's Witnesses for not merely being "jerks", but even "thieves", was the time when one of those WatchTower Representatives once stayed several weeks/months with the family. After that WatchTower Rep had moved on to their next assignment, and when the family's next telephone bill arrived, the ESTEPs discovered that WatchTower Rep had somehow spent the last couple weeks or so in their home telephoning friends and family across the United States, and even WatchTower HQ in Brooklyn, without the ESTEPs knowing about such. WatchTower Rep skipped town leaving the ESTEP family with what in those days was an astronomical telephone bill. WatchTower Rep did so knowing full well that the ESTEPs would not dare complain to the WatchTower Society, nor dare attempt to track him down for the money.
 
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READERS may be interested in a November 2013 Scotland media story which is still developing at the time of this posting. This story involves a 66 year-old Scottish Male named John R. Handley, who is reported to be a former "JW Elder" (Minister) at the Ramsgate East Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Scotland. In November 2013, multiple British newspapers began running exposes of John R. Handley, who had become the "consort" of the female Mayor of Basildon, Scotland, sometime around 2006, which was around the same time that John Handley was divorced from his JW Wife and disfellowshipped. Since then, Handley reportedly involved himself in local government affairs, including accompanying the Mayor during an expense-paid business trip to France, and representing Basildon at civic events such as Rememberance Sunday. "DOCTOR John Handley" allegedly had been holding himself out publicly as a legal expert with a PhD in law, an international diplomat, and a recent war hero. The elderly Handley allegedly claimed to have been a Royal Navy officer who was injured by American "friendly fire" during Royal Navy service in the 1990s Gulf War. Handley allegedly also claimed to have recently worked with the United Nations, the British Foreign Office, and even Tony Blair and President Obama with regard to the Palestinian peace process, plus advised Hillary Clinton on political campaign matters. Handley also allegedly claimed that he holds an engineering degree, and that he joined the Royal Navy at its own request to assist with development of equipment.

The various media reports state that John R. Handley is actually a former TV repair man who currently owns J.H. Cleaning Service. One media article includes comments from John Handley in which Handley acknowledges his "Jehovah's Witness" ties (but not that he was an "JW Elder"), and seems to indicate that he was reared in a Jehovah's Witness family. Although the Mayor has publicly distanced herself from Handley, the mayor's political opponents have asked local law enforcement to investigate whether Handley should be charged with any criminal offences.

Older internet postings from an anonymous poster with claimed Jehovah's Witness ties allege that John R. Handley owes them MONEY, but has refused to pay.

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OHIO v. TEKLEGRGES was a 2003-04 Ohio criminal court decision. In October 2003, a Jehovah's Witness convenience store clerk, named Abraham Teklegrges, was arrested at one of his employer's five west-side Cincinnati locations on three counts of receiving stolen property. Abraham Teklegrges was an immigrant from Eritrea (Africa). Teklegrges eventually pled guilty to one count in exchange for the other two counts being dropped, and receiving a sentence of time served.

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In the mid-1980s, one of the JW Elders at the East Congregation of the Owensboro, Kentucky Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, in Daviess County, Kentucky, informed a group of fellow JWs that he and his wife would soon be moving away from their congregation -- despite having only recently spent a short time living in Owensboro, and despite the fact that he and/or his wife originally were from Owensboro. Kentucky. JW Elder explained that he had been unable to find suitable full-time employment in Owensboro. JW Elder further explained that he and wife were returning to West Virginia, where they had lived before moving back to Owensboro. JW Elder explained that in West Virginia he had been able to earn a very nice living as a Hearing Aid Salesperson. When asked why he was unable to work as a Hearing Aid Salesperson in Owensboro, JW Elder stated that the Hearing Aid company which he had represented in West Virginia did not do business in the state of Kentucky -- now get this -- because the state of Kentucky REGULATED the sale of Hearing Aids and Hearing Aid Salespersons. Without shame or hesitance, JW Elder volunteered that he earned 80% commissions on his sales, and that he made multiple sales per week. Specifically, JW Elder related that his best selling model retailed for $800.00 -- of which, he pocketed $640.00 commission. None of the listening JWs gave any noticeable signs that they found any problem with this JW Elder's previous statements. No problem with the fact that JW Elder would not even attempt to sell Hearing Aids in a state where such sales activities were state regulated. No problem with the fact that JW Elder was selling door-to-door $800.00 Hearing Aids -- on which the Distributor was with little doubt DOUBLING its cost at the wholesale price of $160.00. JW Elder apparently had no ethics nor honesty issues with home-selling an $80.00 product to poor, rural West Virginians for $800.00. An unverified, unreliable source has indicated that JW Elder possibly most recently served as an Elder with the Berea, Kentucky Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, in Madison County, Kentucky.

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On November 30, 2009, KEVIN C. TEPPO and RACHAEL L. TEPPO, then living in Oberlin, Ohio, filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. (Rachael Lauren (Sohl) Petrus remarried in Ohio in January 2014.)

DISCOVER BANK v. KEVIN C. TEPPO was a 2009 Wisconsin civil lawsuit.

CAPITAL ONE BANK USA NA v. KEVIN C. TEPPO was a 2008 Wisconsin civil lawsuit.

SUMMIT CREDIT UNION v. KEVIN C. TEPPO, RACHAEL L. TEPPO, ET AL, was a 2008 mortgage foreclosure civil lawsuit on a property located in Columbus, Wisconsin.

ANCHORBANK FSB v. KEVIN C. TEPPO was a 2008 Wisconsin civil lawsuit.

CITIBANK (SOUTH DAKOTA) NA v. KEVIN C. TEPPO was a 2008 Wisconsin civil lawsuit.

M&I MARSHALL &ILSLEY BANK v. KEVIN C. TEPPO, RACHAEL L. TEPPO, ET AL was a 2007 mortgage foreclosure civil lawsuit on a property located in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

SUN PRAIRIE CONCRETE INC v. TEPPO PROPERTIES I LLC was a 2007 Wisconsin civil lawsuit.

ABC SUPPLY CO INC v. YOUR TRUSTED CHOICE LLC, KEVIN C. TEPPO, ET AL was a 2007 Wisconsin civil lawsuit.

PETER GARCIA ET AL v. KEVIN CHARLES TEPPO was a 2007 Wisconsin civl lawsuit.

WB SALES, INC v. KEVIN TEPPO was a 2006 Wisconsin civil lawsuit.

CAPITAL ONE BANK v. KEVIN TEPPO was a 2000 Wisconsin civil lawsuit.


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MORE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES HONESTY - DISHONESTY CASES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE

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Readers specifically interested in the topic of Jehovah's Witness Honesty and Integrity should be aware that related court case are scattered throughout this website -- specifically the JW Business Owners, Managers, and Supervisors page. Readers should also refer to the 20 webpages of other types of thefts and other criminal court cases posted on the JW CHILDREN website linked from this website's Homepage.
 
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