Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Fraud and Misuse of Donations Filed Against Gospel for Asia

Just received this. More information to come. This is a major development in the ongoing Gospel for Asia story. GFA is the second largest mission organization in the nation.

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED TO HOLD GOSPEL FOR ASIA ACCOUNTABLE FOR FRAUDULENT SOLICITATION AND MISUSE OF CHARITABLE DONATIONS
For Immediate Release
Contact: Marc R. Stanley  (469) 831-7575
Monday, February 8, 2016
Dallas-based Stanley Law Group initiated a class action lawsuit today in United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas against Gospel for Asia, Inc. and several affiliates for fraudulently soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable donations, and then misdirecting the money into the personal empire of Gospel for Asia’s leader, K.P. Yohannan.
The lawsuit alleges that Gospel for Asia, Yohannan, and other GFA officials misrepresented to donors how, when, and where charitable donations would be spent, and funneled vast amounts of the hundreds of millions of dollars GFA has collected into for-profit businesses and an expensive headquarters. Plaintiffs Matthew and Jennifer Dickson charge defendants with violations of RICO and the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as fraud and unjust enrichment.
Gospel for Asia is a global missionary organization that operates in South Asia, primarily within India. GFA tells potential donors that it supplies the “poorest of the poor” with food, provisions, and a Christian message. Lead attorney Marc R. Stanley said, “K.P. Yohannan and his Gospel for Asia inner circle have been exploiting the goodwill and generosity of devout Christians around the country for years. Gospel for Asia should return all the money it’s taken from donors who thought they were contributing to charity.”
Stanley Law Group (SLG) is a Dallas-based law firm that focuses on complex litigation. SLG also has offices in California and Oregon. Stanley is a past president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.
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Within the past year, Gospel for Asia was terminated from membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, denied membership in the Independent Charities of America and was sanctioned by the Office of Personnel Management to the greatest extent possible for violations of federal law
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Questions About Gospel for Asia's Use of Donations for Leprosy Care on World Leprosy Day

Today is World Leprosy Day.
Last week, Gospel for Asia issued a press release claiming to help thousands of leprosy sufferers.

WILLS POINT, Texas, Jan. 28, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ — Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported missionaries and workers will reach out with food, clothing and medical aid on Jan. 31, World Leprosy Day, to more than 4,000 sufferers in 63 leprosy colonies, highlighting the plight of those suffering from this brutal, but highly treatable disease.

GFA’s track record in recent years does not inspire confidence that funds donated for leprosy care will get to the victims of this dreaded disease.
GFA LOGOAccording to GFA’s project giving reports for 2011-2013, donors have given $284,528 designated for leprosy ministry. However, only $36,600 has been reported on Indian government forms as being received in India during the same period. On the FC-6 form, a specific line item exists for reporting foreign donations given to assist with leprosy treatment and outreach. Only about 13% of gifts designated by donors to GFA in the United States was reported as received by GFA’s field partners in India.
Due to giving in prior years, GFA had amassed a balance of nearly $400,000 in an account to help leprosy treatment as of March 31, 2014. Using funds from that account along with a small amount of the actual donations, GFA reported spending of just over $180,000 on leprosy care from 2011-2013. That is still over $100,000 less than donors gave. As with other needs, GFA has built up a balance in this account for reasons they have not disclosed. Even while GFA continues to solicit donations, organization leaders have significant funds waiting to be used in keeping with donor intent.
 
 

K.P. Yohannan Will Not Speak at Downline Missions Conference; Still on GMMA 2016 Conference Schedule

GFA LOGOYesterday, I posted a link to a Memphis missions conference which featured Gospel for Asia’s K.P. Yohannan as a speaker. Today, I have learned that the Downline Summit conference director is now telling people who ask that Yohannan and the organizers have agreed Yohannan will not appear. A trip to the conference website fails to find Yohannan’s picture or any references to GFA.
Still on GMMA 2016 Schedule
Another organization which has not decided what to do with K.P. Yohannan is the Global Medical Missions Alliance.   Yohannan is slated to speak at their 2016 conference. Recently, Joy Kim, representing GMMA, told me that the GMMA board has been deliberating about Yohannan’s role at the Irvine conference in late June.

Gospel for Asia's CEO K.P. Yohannan to Headline Memphis Missions Conference

GFA LOGOApparently, the Metropolitan will return to the United States for a missions conference in February. K.P. Yohannan is scheduled to speak at the Downline Summit which takes place at Hope Church in Memphis, Feb. 5-6.
Yohannan’s organization hasn’t had the best year since April 2015. Gospel for Asia lost their membership with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, was denied membership in the Independent Charities of America, was sanctioned to greatest extent possible by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for violations of federal guidelines, was reported to the Canadian authorities for violation of GFA’s Canadian by-laws, and may be investigated by the U.K. Charity Commission, among other problems.
downlinesummit
 
 
 

Canadian Church Pulls Support for Gospel for Asia

Faith Mennonite Church yesterday alerted the congregation that Gospel for Asia will be removed from their offering schedule for at least two years.

As a leadership team, we have been watching the situation with GFA (Gospel for Asia) as significant concerns unfold about their financial management over the past number of months.  Given the most recent updates that we have seen, along with a lack of response to our query to GFA Canada for clarity on the situation, we have decided that it is appropriate to remove GFA from our offering schedule for the two years remaining in this offering cycle. While this situation is unfortunate, we feel that this is the path of most diligence at this time, given the information that we have been provided.

For an outline of the situation, please read this article from Christianity Today :http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/december-web-only/report-details-why-gospel-for-asia-lost-ecfa-membership.html

For some background reading, please review:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/october-web-only/why-gospel-for-asia-kicked-out-of-ecfa-yohannan.html

For GFA USA’s initial response, please read here:

http://www.gfa.org/ecfa/

For a response from a Canadian pastor, please read here:

/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/A-Pastors-Appeals-to-Gospel-For-Asia-final-draft.pdf

On Tuesday, I disclosed that K.P. Yohannan fired two board members without due process and possibly in violation of Canadian law. Last year, I reported that Canadian contributions to GFA India were not reported in India.