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COS sued for fraud

TrevAnon

Big List researcher
SCIENTOLOGY SUED FOR FRAUD OVER REFUND SCHEME, MORE PLAINTIFFS TO COME

Luis Garcia, seen in a recent video by Tiziano Lugli

Luis Garcia, seen in a recent video by Tiziano Lugli
In what appears to be the most serious legal challenge to Scientology in several years, former high-level Scientologists Luis Garcia and his wife Maria del Rocio Burgos Garcia filed a federal lawsuit today in Florida’s Middle District with the help of the prestigious law firm Babbitt Johnson Osborne & Le Clainche, which says it plans to file additional lawsuits by other former church members.

In 1993, when the Internal Revenue Service granted Scientology tax exempt status, the church made certain promises to the government in order to escape a $1 billion tax bill. Among those promises, the church vowed to give members refunds when they requested them.

Now that Scientology is in the grips of crisis and more and more longtime members like the Garcias are walking away from the church, an increasing number of them have asked for refunds — and the church isn’t giving them.

We’ve written about this state of affairs numerous times. Now, the Garcias have filed a lawsuit that accuses church leader David Miscavige of turning Scientology into little more than a fraudulent money-making scam.

“The Church, under the leadership of David Miscavige, has strayed from its founding principles and morphed into a secular enterprise whose primary purpose is taking people’s money,” the complaint says.

The Garcias and their attorneys are about to hold a press conference, and we’ll be listening in telephonically and taking notes. We’ve had time only to read through the complaint once, and we’ll be adding to this story as we learn more.

More at link

http://tonyortega.org/2013/01/23/sc...d-over-refund-scheme-more-plaintiffs-to-come/
 

NoName

A Girl Has No Name
Cultmageddon - Lawsuit filed for fraudulent regging and refund scheme

Dox at Tony's website, and more plaintiffs to come. Here are some fair use teasers:


Now that Scientology is in the grips of crisis and more and more longtime members like the Garcias are walking away from the church, an increasing number of them have asked for refunds — and the church isn’t giving them.


– Luis Garcia, in the press conference: “Every time I was asked for a donation for the [Super Power] Building, I was told it would open within a year. I was lied to.”

Babbitt: Says he knows of hundreds of other former Scientologists are just waiting for a lawsuit like this. He thinks he will end up representing many of them. They expect to end up representing HUNDREDS of people, but they do NOT plan to turn it into a class action.

http://tonyortega.org/2013/01/23/sc...d-over-refund-scheme-more-plaintiffs-to-come/

This has the potential for the greatest lulz for the greatest number of dynamics known to date.

YOU PULLED IT IN, DAVEY!
 

NoName

A Girl Has No Name
Oh shit, we must have hit submit thread at the same moment. Maybe a mod could merge for us?
 

Danger Mouse

Patron with Honors
“The Church, under the leadership of David Miscavige, has strayed from its founding principles and morphed into a secular enterprise whose primary purpose is taking people’s money,” the complaint says.
YEAH, BABY!
 

NoName

A Girl Has No Name
“The Church, under the leadership of David Miscavige, has strayed from its founding principles and morphed into a secular enterprise whose primary purpose is taking people’s money,” the complaint says.
YEAH, BABY!

I didn't realize that it "morphed" - wasn't it always about the money?
 

Danger Mouse

Patron with Honors
No one could argue that it wasn't always about the money. There's that famous Hubbard screed all in caps about "MAKE MONEY!" from back in the 60s sometime.

In my opinion, though, I felt that the Church of Dave got more and more predatory throughout the late 90s and the "aughts." It felt like things were just sliding downhill the whole time.
 

TEoS

Patron with Honors
Re: Cultmageddon - Lawsuit filed for fraudulent regging and refund scheme

Lord Xenu approves of this action.
 

Danger Mouse

Patron with Honors
"MAKE MONEY. MAKE MORE MONEY. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MORE MONEY."
- L. Ron Hubbard, Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter, 9 March 1972, MS OEC 384
 

NoName

A Girl Has No Name
No one could argue that it wasn't always about the money. There's that famous Hubbard screed all in caps about "MAKE MONEY!" from back in the 60s sometime.

In my opinion, though, I felt that the Church of Dave got more and more predatory throughout the late 90s and the "aughts." It felt like things were just sliding downhill the whole time.

That I agree with. LRH was smart enough not to reg people into insolvency because he knew the value of a repeat customer. Davey seems to have given up on everything except squeezing the last of his public dry. I can only assume it is for his legal defense or Bulgravian Boogie retirement fund.
 

Type4_PTS

Diamond Invictus SP
Re: Cultmageddon - Lawsuit filed for fraudulent regging and refund scheme

Lord Xenu approves of this action.

With everything that's happened in January (so far) I wouldn't be surprised if OSA holds a special briefing for all OT III's and above, informing them that Xenu broke containment and has been orchestrating everything. :biggrin:

OSA and the IAS of course have a solution to handle Xenu, but it's very expensive, and they need every IAS member to upgrade their memberships immediately. :coolwink:
 

Lulu Belle

Moonbat
Re: Cultmageddon - Lawsuit filed for fraudulent regging and refund scheme

http://www2.tbo.com/lifestyles/life...of-suits-says-scientology-misspent-ar-614337/

(excerpt)

TAMPA -- A California couple filed a federal lawsuit today in Tampa against the Church of Scientology, saying hundreds of thousands of dollars they gave to the church for specific purposes was spent elsewhere.


Attorneys for the couple say it is the first of a series of lawsuits that will be filed by former church members across the nation, alleging fraud, unfair deceptive trade practices and breach of contract.


The 35-page, nine-count suit was filed in Tampa's federal courthouse Wednesday morning and names five church entities in Clearwater: The Church of Scientology Religious Trust, the FLAG Service Organization, the FLAG SHIP Service Organization, IAS Administrations and the United States IAS Members Trust.


The couple, identified as Luis A. Garcia Saz and his wife Maria Del Rocio Burgos Garcia of Irvine, Calif., want their $420,000 back. They said in the suit that they gave the church $320,000 to go toward construction a new building near its headquarters in Clearwater and that more than a decade went by with completion nowhere in sight.


The complaint also says that the couple donated money for certain humanitarian initiatives, such as counseling services and helping natural disaster victims, but that money was either underused or misappropriated.


All along, the suit says, church officials at the highest levels knew they were committing fraud.


The plaintiffs' attorneys, Theodore Babbitt of West Palm Beach and Ronald P. Weil of Miami, said they expect a wave of similar federal suits from ex-church members around the country, some of which are already in process.


The suit filed in Tampa today names David Miscavige, who assumed leadership of the church in 1986.
 

afaceinthecrowd

Gold Meritorious Patron
Big Time Pro litigators are like Big Time Pro Football coaches…when they see someone else having success with a play or formation they copy it.

Ray Jeffrey’s recent pay days showed that the Cof$ (DM) will fold their tent rather than go to Discovery and Deposition. DM’s head is gonna be ringing like an old fashioned dime-store cash register as this year goes forward. IMO, raiding the Cof$ coffers may well become the “Next Big Thing” in Big Time Plaintiff Law.

DM/Cof$ has got dough, crimes to hide, few friends and a whole lotta Folks royally pissed off.

2013…The year of katching, Katching, KATCHING! :yes:

Face:)
 
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Veda

Sponsor
"MAKE MONEY. MAKE MORE MONEY. MAKE OTHER PEOPLE PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MORE MONEY."
- L. Ron Hubbard, Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter, 9 March 1972, MS OEC 384


Religious cloaking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZvqeGrbILw


__________​


"Because it's protected as a religion... it's able to get away with a lot of things."

Lawrence Wright, 2013


__________​


"Scientology 1970 is being planned on a religious organization basis throughout the world. This will not upset in any way the usual activities of any organization. It is entirely a matter for accountants and solicitors."

L. Ron Hubbard, 1962


__________​


Hard Sell, a.k.a. Crush Sell, has been part of Scientology since the 1960s. I witnessed Hard Sell tech being used in the early 1970s. The idea, as I recall Hubbard explaining it in the Hard Sell pack, is that people ("wogs," "Homo Saps," "Raw meat" and, apparently, even Scientologists) are naturally in a sort of hypnotic daze, and will respond to being told what to do, if that telling is done effectively. Trickery is also part of Hard Sell tech, as is "ruthlessness," after all, look at what's at stake, the eternity of every Man, Woman, and Child on this planet and your own endless agonized trillions and, besides, successful Scientology sales people lived very well. They were "up stats" and were rewarded.


__________​


"Make money. Make more money. Make other people produce so as to make more money." L. Ron Hubbard, 1972


__________​


Hubbard's "religion angle" and "religious cloaking" were aimed largely at achieving tax exempt status. When this occurred in the USA in 1993, the kind of pure-money-sucking that's now done in Scientology became realistic. Donations to Scientology are tax exempt, and those donating can make deductions on their income tax returns. In effect, the United Sates government is supporting the Scientology cult, just as Hubbard had envisioned.

However, even before the Scientology money-sucking vacuum cleaner engine was turned on full, Hard Sell was going strong in the "Church" of Scientology.


__________​



"He [Hubbard] stated [that] coming ashore would be profitable, because we could get so many more people to the Flag Land Base, as it was to be called, for auditing and training, and he wanted to concentrate on getting professionals to the Land Base because, of course, they had more accessible money. They had pension funds. They had children's education funds, and some of these he named, that were accessible."

Hana Eltringham, from the 'Secret Lives' BBC program:

See 3:20: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhULw6qarW4


__________​


"It was PR and marketing considerations that led Hubbard to decide that certain people were 'clear' at a certain point..."

David Mayo, from his 1991 article on 'Clear':


"What worried me was that I saw some things he did and statements he made that showed his intentions were different from what they appeared to be...

"He [Hubbard] told me he was obsessed with an insatiable lust for power and money. He said it very emphatically. He thought it wasn't possible to get enough. He didn't say it as if it was a fault, just his frustration that he couldn't get enough."

David Mayo, 1986, from an interview with author Russell Miller


__________​


IMO, it's excellent that this legal action is occurring; it's unfortunate that Scientology's "religion angle" (as its founder called it), and its other fake veneer aspects, are being presented as sincere "principles" and not as fraudulent window dressing.
 

JustMe

Patron Meritorious
Here is something I just put on TonyO's blog:

"This is awesome! And the karmetic vortex grows:)

Here is a posting I wrote about six years ago on alt.religion.scientology on the subject of scientology''s refund fraud. Forget the bits in it about suggesting a class action as well as the causes of action and just check out how crazy their actual refund routing form is and how it is designed to prevent a refund. FWIW:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.religion.scientology/msg/aed9c1bf55ffa967?

or

http://groups.google.com/group/alt....ec1916945e/aed9c1bf55ffa967?#aed9c1bf55ffa967

I wish anyone involved with this litigantion and in further such litigation the best of luck. They deserve them as do all of us who paid them money and could not get it back".
 

Type4_PTS

Diamond Invictus SP
Re: Cultmageddon - Lawsuit filed for fraudulent regging and refund scheme

Here's a quick peek inside COB's office using special remote viewing technology:

[video=youtube;78W-J3tpL6s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78W-J3tpL6s[/video]
 

NoName

A Girl Has No Name
Re: Cultmageddon - Lawsuit filed for fraudulent regging and refund scheme

I've been remote viewing the all-hands going on at The Hole

[video=youtube_share;ZujEZ9Wcgys]http://youtu.be/ZujEZ9Wcgys[/video]
 
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