Gospel for Asia Charity Accused of $100M Donor Fraud in Class Action Lawsuit

The charity Gospel for Asia has been hit with a class action lawsuit accusing it of misusing more than $100 million in donor funds.

Plaintiff Greg Zentner filed the donor fraud class action lawsuit Tuesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. He says he and his wife donated thousands of dollars to Gospel for Asia between 2006 and 2014.

Gospel for Asia has been operating in Canada since 1980 and reportedly raises about $9 million in donations per year.

The charity raises money for various items including farm animals, bicycles, drinking wells and blankets intended for poor people in India and surrounding countries. Donors can also make monthly donations to support child and missionary sponsorships.

Zentner says he learned from his pastor, Bruce Morrison, that donations to Gospel for Asia may have been misused.

According to the Gospel for Asia class action, Morrison reportedly began tracking Gospel for Asia’s spending after hearing from former charity staff members in the United States. He discovered financial discrepancies and learned that tens of millions of dollars were held in foreign bank accounts with millions more held in reserve funds, according to CBC News.

CBC News conducted a year-long investigation into Gospel for Asia and spoke with Morrison and 28 former staff members and board members in Canada, India and the United States.

Between 2007 and 2014, Gospel for Asia allegedly reported to the Canada Revenue Agency that it sent about $94 million to India. However, financial records that it submitted to the Indian government showed that Gospel for Asia received no money from Canada during this time.

Morrison also alleges in the donor fraud class action lawsuit that Gospel for Asia falsely claimed in its financial statements that an anonymous donor gave $20 million to help pay for the construction of the charity’s headquarters in Texas. This money was actually taken from Canadian donations, Morrison says.

“They said in the financial statements that were issued in the U.S. [that] … the money had come from an anonymous donor,” Morrison told CBC News. “And then we find out through court hearings in the United States that this money was Canadian money and donors here had no idea that had happened.”

Gospel for Asia reportedly admitted to CBC that the money had come from Canadian donations but says the money has been paid back.

The Gospel for Asia class action lawsuit claims the charity “defrauded or made negligent misstatements” to donors. Zentner also alleges the charity “civilly conspired to misrepresent the nature of donations collected.”

The Gospel for Asia class action lawsuit is seeking the return of the $20 million in Canadian donations that was misdirected to the construction costs in Texas, claiming that “the transfers were made in order to hide the actual source of the funds and to mislead class members and the Canadian and Indian tax authorities.”

Last year, Gospel for Asia settled a similar donor fraud class action lawsuit in the United States for $37 million but did not admit any wrongdoing.

What do you think about the Gospel for Asia class action lawsuit? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below! 

Zentner is represented by Marc Stanley and John McKiggan.

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