Scientology --- Victims of Scam Target Church of Scientology

Victims of Scam Target Church of Scientology

Victims of Scam Target Church

Los Angeles Times, March 26, 2003
By E. Scott Reckard, Times Staff Writer

Investors defrauded by Reed Slatkin hope to recover funds from Scientology groups.

Investors defrauded of $255 million by EarthLink Inc. co-founder Reed Slatkin are hoping to recover funds from the Church of Scientology International and six affiliated organizations that allegedly wound up with tens of millions of dollars from the investment scam, their attorneys said Tuesday.

The investors won an initial battle when a bankruptcy judge in Santa Barbara recently refused to block subpoenas ordering the Scientology groups to hand over records of money transferred to them by certain Slatkin investors who came out ahead financially. The subpoenas also seek records of communications the groups had about Slatkin, a longtime but now excommunicated Scientologist who was known for his celebrity clientele.

Investors burned by Slatkin's schemes have sued individuals who profited, including supermodel Cheryl Tiegs and actor Peter Coyote. But the subpoenas mark the first legal targeting of church entities. No suits have been filed against the church or the affiliates. Attorneys expect months of legal wrangling before the subpoenas might yield anything.

Lawyers for the church groups, who sought to block the subpoenas, won a partial victory from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robin Riblet, who is overseeing Slatkin's bankruptcy. The judge ruled Friday that they can participate in the subpoena process. That will allow the groups to mount further legal challenges and to have access to any documents that are made public.

Church of Scientology attorneys will confer with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee on the material that should be released through the subpoenas, "and to the extent the subpoenas seek to violate religious protections of communications between the church and its members, we will object," said Joseph Eisenberg, a lawyer for the church.

One of the claims made to try to block the subpoenas was that details of money transfers are protected by "clergy-communicant privileges" -- the status accorded to the confessing of sins to a priest. But attorneys for the trustee and the committee of unsecured creditors questioned in court documents "how a simple monetary transfer, where no communication was involved, would violate any clergy-communicant privileges."

In pleading guilty to fraud last year, Slatkin described his investment empire as a scam from its start in 1986. Lawyers for the trustee and the creditors contend that proves the "profits" he distributed were ill-gotten, whether the investors knew it or not, and must be returned.

Legally, there is no protection for third parties such as the Church of Scientology if it can be shown that they received supposed profits from Slatkin, said Alexander Pilmer, an attorney for the trustee and creditors. He added that there's a potential for significant recoveries from the organizations.

"We believe that Scientology entities received tens of millions of dollars from Slatkin or from Slatkin's Ponzi scheme," Pilmer said.

In a report to the Bankruptcy Court, trustee R. Todd Neilson calculated that investors poured $593 million into Slatkin's investment pools. Neilson wants to recover as much as possible of the $195 million that investors received as purported profits.

Slatkin pleaded guilty nearly a year ago to fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges carrying a potential sentence of up to 15 years. The co-founder of the Internet service provider EarthLink is in federal custody, trying to win a lesser sentence by cooperating with prosecutors. Sentencing is set for June 9.

Slatkin's plea agreement allowed him to request a lighter sentence because of what the plea agreement called the "psychological impact of his association with certain individuals and/or groups," a reference to his membership in the Church of Scientology and long and close relationship with some prominent members.

Linda Simmons Hight, a spokeswoman for the church in Los Angeles, said Slatkin "used his position in the church to suck in Scientologists who were victimized along with other people."

Pilmer said dozens of people who profited from Slatkin's scheme have settled the claims. The latest settlement, approved Friday by Riblet, was with CNN legal commentator Greta Van Susteren and her husband, tobacco litigator John Coale. They agreed to pay about $700,000 -- about 81 cents on the dollar for the profits Slatkin paid them.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-slatkin26mar26001443,1,4657550.story ?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dbusiness

From: Zorrosblade........Z <zorrosblade@onlineadrenaline.com>
Subject: Re: Victims of Scam Target Church of Scientology
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 02:42:53 -0800
Message-ID: <14f58vc71i3dlt0k5a4tn9h01bpsioe4lt@4ax.com>

On 26 Mar 2003 20:52:20 GMT, jimdbb@aol.com (JimDBB) wrote:

>Victims of Scam Target Church
>
>
>Los Angeles Times, March 26, 2003
>By E. Scott Reckard, Times Staff Writer
>
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-slatkin26mar26001443,1,4657550.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dbusiness snip>

A "clergy-communicant privileges" fiduciary claim from the organization which gave us 'nOisY' B1 invests through GO 'B1' hat packs.

http://www.xenu.net/archive/go/gohist.htm

snip>

Bureau 1: Information The investigatory arm. This branch was perhaps the most prestigious within the GO, running agents and intelligence gathering programs. The GO's internal newspaper The Winner described it as follows:

"The Information Bureau serves as an investigatory arm and provides factual information to the Legal Bureau for use in ongoing and planned litigation. The Information Bureau also serves to provide raw data to Freedom and other aspects of Public Relations, taking on the investigative end of 'investigative reporting'.

Our Church is concerned with social reform. We do not take on activities or isolate areas which require reform just by assumption.

They are pinpointed by extensive data gathering and painstaking effort, as any Information Bureau staff member would verify ... For effective change requires accurate analysis. And accurate analysis requires data collection and review."

[The Winner, issue no. 7, September 1980]

The functions of "B1" were, of course, rather broader than that, as illustrated by the contents of the Confidential Intelligence Course given to those who held the "Information Full Hat" (post of B1 officer). Most Scientologists knew little or nothing about the activities of the GO until their exposure in the wake of the Snow White scandal. But the GO know plenty about them; comprehensive files were maintained on all Scientologists, culled from the supposedly confidential records of confessional sessions.

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=as2rr1016lk%40drn.newsguy.com&output=gplain GUARDIAN ORDER GO 121669 MSH December 16, 1969 To: All D/A/Guardians for Intelligence

PROGRAMME: INTELLIGENCE: INTERNAL SECURITY OBSERVATION: The enemy has used the method of infiltration to obtain information against ourselves as known from incidences in South Africa, Edinburgh and Washington, D.C. The enemy has also "turned"

and used as double agents Staff members as revealed by Maurice Johnson at Saint Hill and Barbara Peake in Melbourne. Further, the enemy has used former disaffected staff members, Scientologists or relatives of Scientologists in their attacks - Philip Wearne and Doug Moon in Australia, Jean Kennedy and Gene van Niekerk in South Africa, Michael Pernetta and Mrs. Henslow in England, Eleanor Turner and the former Mrs. Elmo Troup in America and the O'Donnell family in New Zealand, to name but a few of the outstanding examples.

Although infiltrators and double agents can create more internal chaos and disorder in an organization, the enemy has been most successful in their attacks through the use of disaffected staff, Scientologists or relatives of Scientologists and the biggest gross error an organization can make as regards its own security is violations of the HCO Policy Letter of October 27, 1964, "Policies on Physical Healing, Insanity and Potential Trouble Sources".The duty of keeping the organization secure belongs in the HCO Division, both in RAP and Inspections and Reports, but the Intelligence Bureau has learned through long experience that it cannot leave this function entirely up to HCO and where it has done so, it has had to suffer the consequences. Thus this Programme is a vital one.

MAJOR TARGET: To use any and all means to detect any infiltration, double agent or disaffected staff member, Scientologist or relatives of Scientologists and by any and all means to render null any potential threat or harm such have rendered or might render to Scientology and Scientologists.

VITAL TARGETS:

1. This Programme is to be done by the Asst. Guardian or the D/A/Guardian for Intelligence, if this post is held separately.

2. To establish Intelligence files on all such persons found to be infiltrators,double agents, and disaffected staff members, Scientologists and relatives of Scientologists.

OPERATING TARGETS:

1. To make full use of all files on the organization to effect your major target. These include personnel files, Ethics files, Dead files, Central files, training files, processing files and requests for refunds.

2. To assemble full data by investigation of each person located for possible use in case of attack or for use in preventing any attack and to keep files of such. (Bold emphasis added.)

3. To be alert to usual security precautions and to see that these are performed by the organization; such as proper locking of the premises, security of keys, locking of files, the changing of locks if keys have been lost, proper safes, etc.

4. To keep off staff and off org lines any person who has ever betrayed Scientology or who has threatened to betray or blackmail Scientology.

5. To ensure the Policy Letter on Physical Healing, Insanity and Potential Trouble Sources is not violated and to be alert to any possible violations.

6. To maintain a good liason line to Ethics and ensure that the Ethics Officer alerts you to any person who might attack Scientology.

7. To be alert to any organizational theft or disappearances of records and files as a possible indication of the presence of an infiltrator or double agent. Infiltrators are frequently those who have recently "joined" Scientology and so can be watched. Double agents are usually detected by natter, down stats, disorder in their areas and no case gain.

8. To be effective and imaginative in your collection of data and in your actions to nullify any attack or threat of attack.

9. To keep your Asst. Guardian fully advised and the D/Guardian for Intelligence WW, who will inform the Guardian WW in such matters.

PRODUCTION TARGET: This is a continuing Programme on which Projects will be issued from time to time.

Mary Sue Hubbard CS-G

http://www.xenu.net/archive/go/go1366/go1366.htm

Z-blade

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