LDS Church faces third lawsuit over alleged tithing misuse
Derick Fox
ABC4
January 30, 2024
A lawsuit represents only one side of the story. A full copy of the lawsuit can be found at the bottom of this article.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is facing another lawsuit over the alleged misuse of member tithings — this time filed in the state of California by a married couple.
This is the latest lawsuit to come from the fallout of whistleblower David Nielson, a former senior portfolio manager with the Church's investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors. In December 2019, Nielson claimed the Church misused billions of dollars in tithes, including $1.4 billion to fund the City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake City.
The plaintiffs, Gene and Michelle Judson, who have been members of the Church since 1967 and 1971, respectively, echoed Nielson's claims in their lawsuit. The California couple explained in court documents that they believed their tithing was to [be] used for charitable and welfare purposes or to build and maintain temples and support missionary work.
Instead, they claim the Church used their tithes — an estimated $40,000 between 2003 and 2020 — to help fund the construction of the City Creek Center mall in downtown Salt Lake City. The Judsons described themselves in court documents as "not wealthy" and at times living on limited means, but still routinely paid tithing on an annual basis, until recently.
"The misrepresentation made by Defendants through their agents and employees — including the president of the LDS Church and other high-ranking LDS Church leaders who were also members of Defendant LDS Corporation — that tithing funds would not be used to finance City Creek Center or other commercial, for-profit, purposes were false, intentional, and made to induce Plaintiffs and Class Members to pay tithing funds in spite of Defendants having amassed a $100 billion fund," alleges the lawsuit.
ABC4 has reached out to the Church for comment on the newest lawsuit but has not received a reply by the time of publication. In the past, the Church has repeatedly stated that it did not use tithing funds for projects such as the City Creek Center, but rather the interest from investments.
The Judsons are asking to be awarded damages not only for themselves but for class members also affected by the alleged tithing misuse.
This is the second such lawsuit filed against the Church in California and the third lawsuit overall since Nielson made his allegations.
In 2019, James Huntsman, the brother of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., filed for the return of the $5 million he donated before he left the Church. Another lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court of Utah in October 2023 by three Church members claiming to have donated a collective total of $350,000 over the years they say were also misused.
The Church has previously sought to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Huntsman and has so far found limited success. A U.S. District Court dismissed Huntsman's lawsuit in September 2021; however, two years later, that ruling was overturned and the lawsuit was reinstated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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