Jump
Operating teatime
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DM, Could this be how it all ends?
...dat's gotta hurt a cult leader's pride
DM, Could this be how it all ends?
Million-dollar financial empire of Agape Ministries and Rocco Leo dismantled by order of SA court
THE financial empire of the controversial Agape Ministries doomsday cult has been dismantled, ending a three-year District Court saga.
Judge David Lovell today ordered assets belonging to the cult and its fugitive founder, Rocco Leo, be sold off to compensate a former parishioner and the Australian Taxation Office.
He further ordered legal costs incurred by the ATO and Silvia Melchiorre, in their pursuit of Agape, be paid from the cult's assets.
Finally, Judge Lovell altered a freezing order that has been in place for three years so Leo - who is living in Fiji - can pay his lawyers and his living expenses.
The parties have been involved in litigation since 2010, when Agape Ministries first came to public attention.
... the ATO [Australian Taxation Office] stripped Agape of its legal status as a religion, revoked its tax exemptions and demanded it pay 10 years worth of taxes.
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...dat's gotta hurt a cult leader's pride