The Fleecing

As you read this document you may identify certain actions and traits of other Far Right Extremists Groups which have begun to replace the Christian Coalition - Here is where they got their Ideas.

Pat Robertson has built an empire on earth by selling pie in the sky.  He promoted himself as a sincere Christian, concerned about "taking the Gospel to every creature," and spreading the good word of the Lord.   He proposed a Christian Broadcast Network (CBN), which would offer Christian preaching and teaching twenty four hours a day, providing spiritual strength and encouragement to the faithful, and saving millions of souls everywhere who might not otherwise have access to salvation of any kind.

The financing for this venture was an entrepreneur's dream: it would all come from Christian donations.  For who could resist the opportunity to invest in the Kingdom of Heaven?  Many made 'sacrificial gifts' because they sincerely believed they were helping to spread the Gospel through their support of CBN.  Others were deeply moved by Robertson's promise that their gift would be 'returned to them a hundredfold.'  The Reverend found that P. T. Bamum was right when he said, "There's one born every minute."  The Christian TV channel idea had struck a nerve, and the donations came pouring in.  And the best part was that since this was a 'religious organization,' it was granted a tax exempt status under IRS code 501(c)3.

There would be nothing wrong with any of this if the people behind the project were as sincere as some of their contributors, many of whom were obviously doing without in order to be able to send in their donations.  One network employee reported, "You should see the thousands of social security checks sent over to CBN."  At the other end of the scale, Pat Robertson and his son Timothy made a personal ninety six million dollar profit off the donations of the gullible.  There shall come a profit throughout the land, indeed.  It is hard not to be cynical in the face of such ruthless opportunism.

For Robertson and his cronies, the CBN was only a stepping stone.  They had never intended to let it be simply a benign Christian ministry.  From the moment it was launched in 1977, the name was tagged with the phrase, 'The Family Channel.'  Four years later, The Family Channel would absorb CBN, and become an advertiser supported, entertainment oriented network, as part of Robertson's move away from the original Christian programming and toward what he called 'family values' programs.  At the same time, however, he continued to broadcast aggressive telethons designed to raise money to "keep Christian programming on the air." Robertson even went so far as to plead with his viewers to send in their contributions, "otherwise we will be forced to begin eliminating stations, one by one, and the devil will have won!"  Presumably, he was referring to the devil we don't know.   But the blind faith of his audience never wavered, and in spite of the steady decline of Christian programs and the increase in the number of secular ones, millions of dollars poured in.

In 1988, CBN/Family Channel broadcasting revenue totaled 50.6 million dollars.  Robertson's tax exempt revenues totaled 9.2 million dollars, with 'other' revenues coming to 41.4 million dollars.  By all legal as well as moral considerations, the profits from these huge revenues should have been used for Christian goals.  But they were not.  Pat Robertson took the money and ran for President of the United States.

And there really is a great deal of money involved in this tangled web.  The tax exempt ministry was the 'parent' of a group of nonprofit as well as for-profit organizations, including International Family Entertainment, Inc. (IFE), established in 1989 as a holding company by Robertson and his son Tim for one purpose: to buy out CBN and turn it into a commercial venture.  Pat and Tim took one hundred and fifty thousand dollars of their contributors' money and transformed it into a personal fortune of ninety million dollars.  Since CBN was registered with the IRS as a 'nonprofit' entity, there were no taxes paid on the transaction.  That may be acceptable to some of the more devout Christian taxpayers, but there are undoubtedly many others who might feel cheated.

The IFE/Family Channel's revenues went up to 114 million dollars in 1991. Over and above the personal profits Robertson pocketed from his backstage wheeling and dealing, he drew a salary of 364,984 dollars.  His son Tim earned 465,731 dollars.  In 1992 those salaries were raised to 390,61 1 dollars for Robertson and 490,204 dollars for Tim.  In 1995, the last preaching show was canceled from the network.  It is significant that a condition of the sale of CBN was a guarantee that "The 700 Club" would still be aired in prime time.  This show is promoted as a Christian program, but it is in fact one of Robertson's main fund-raisers on the network.  And, along with a few half-hearted verses of Scripture tossed in here and there, that's all that's left of the Christian programming and spiritual content that his audience originally bought into.  The devotion that Robertson inspires is truly amazing: the wolf in sheep's clothing has fleeced the flock, and they still come back for more.

Robertson's primary energies are entrepreneurial.   Profit and power are his gods.  In 1991, he traveled the country, speaking at rallies and gatherings everywhere.  Not about family values; not about the Kingdom of God; not about living according to Christian principles.  No, this was just another promotional tour, and Robertson was selling his latest business idea, a new 'multilevel' marketing company that would sell 'passport' discount-coupon books to Christian families.   The 'product' offered discounts on everything from generic drugs to vacation condos, and the potential profits, as Robertson proclaimed, were unlimited.

"With God there is no cap. In the multilevel business, the sky is the limit."

His Scripture-quoting sales pitch lit the fire under some of the faithful, and out came the check books to invest in the Reverend's heaven-sent opportunity.  The venture initially seemed to prosper, and branched out to include exotic products such as vitamins and skin creams from the Holy Land.

Company records show that millions of dollars from CBN, the tax exempt ministry, were funneled into this project, which was gloriously profitable for Robertson but turned out to be a losing proposition for all his victims. Lacking a gullible market like themselves, they lost many thousands of dollars when they were unable to sell the products they had trustingly bought from Robertson's company. Their investments sank beneath the weight of brochures, fliers, and video tapes they were also obliged to purchase.

And then, barely a year later, the company abruptly changed directions, leaving their distributors with garages full of cartons of discount-coupon books, and the unpleasant suspicion that they had victimized.

Robertson became interested in a company that produced high-potency vitamin supplements, and soon decided to make them his main product line. Renaming the company, Kalo Vita, The Good Life Co., he offered a line of health products, including deodorized garlic pills, pills that help you slim while you sleep, and a nutritional drink called the American Whey. Company executives called the new line a

"complete health and-body management system."

It was later found that the vitamins themselves were irresponsibly manufactured, with a potency that was too high for the average consumer. Also, according to former Kalo Vita president Mark Peterson, the product was being sold at an excessive markup,

"We were buying it for 7 to 8 dollars a bottle, and selling it for 49.95."

The company had pledged to buy back any coupon books that distributors were unable to sell. But this turned out to be more of a sales pitch than a real commitment. When Ron Santom tried to return more than seven hundred fifty dollars worth of coupon books, he was told that the company's board had,

"changed the policy," and that refunds were no longer being offered.

Lois Flockhart, a 76 year old retiree, says she lost more than seven thousand dollars, and was forced to refinance her Indianapolis home. Terry Young, who was a volunteer in Pat Robertson's failed presidential campaign, lost ten thousand dollars along with his respect for Robertson. Young is understandably bitter, and says,

"I can't even turn his program on anymore."

To be fair, though, both sides should be able to have equal time. So here's a statement made to the Washington Post by a representative of Pat Robertson's financial organization,

"Profit is not a dirty word. The Robertson’s are merely good Christian business executives."

While his loyal distributors were losing the investments they had made in his company, Robertson received $38,609 in 1992 as his fee for making promotional speeches and videos which generated even more money for him and his associates. His family was also benefitting directly: his son Gordon served as the firm's chief lawyer, and one of his daughters was installed at the top of the pyramid-style distribution chain.

Robertson is not very subtle in his blatant greed. At the Christian Coalition's "Road to Victory" conference in September 1995, he included an advertisement in the program, inviting Coalition members to sign up as distributors for Kalo Vita, now wholly owned by Robertson. The ad stated,

"Christian Coalition Members - You've Made Your Political Voice Heard!!! Now Make Your Economic Voice Heard!!!"

And he introduced new products, such as 'Good Life spot remover,' ' Hydro-Complex Hair Care,' and 'Sea of Galilee face creams and mud masks'. No doubt keeping an eye on the marketing success of the girl scouts, he soon plans to introduce a line of his own "personally-tasted oatmeal cookies".

As unsettling as Robertson's business practices appear to be, it is even more troubling that no charges have been filed against his operations. His promises that

"membership in the company would solve family financial problems,"

are, at the very least, deceptive advertising. His implication that members would earn at least $3,600 a month is downright misleading. His misrepresentations have caused many people to lose their life savings. His emotional, and highly successful, appeals for money from those who can't afford it would make snake oil salesmen everywhere take off their hats in awe and pride. But in spite of this unsavory track record, no fraud charges have been filed. Nor have there been any charges brought against the Reverend for selling the nonprofit Christian Broadcasting Network - for a profit. Now, let's back up a little and take a better look at this "good Christian business deal".

Money was solicited in a public offering for the specific purpose of building a nonprofit television network, to be used exclusively for broadcasting Christian material of a spiritual nature. Once this had been accomplished, the network was sold - for personal profit - so that it could switch to secular programming. Am I missing something or does this sound like a gigantic fraud? Surely anybody else who raised money for a specific purpose, didn't deliver on their promise, and then used that money for something else, would be sent straight to jail. But Robertson's wealth and the clout of his Christian Coalition give him an influence over politicians that essentially keeps him above the laws of the land. His influence apparently extends to the IRS also, because the activities of the Christian Coalition certainly don't entitle them to the tax exempt status they enjoy under a 501(c)3 classification. It's enough to make anyone want to go down to the temple and kick over a few money-changers' tables!

It is of interest to note that Robertson has a prot6g6, the Rev. Ronn Haus, an Assemblies of God minister who copied his master's model and created the United Christian Broadcast network, based in Concord, California. Haus began negotiating the sale of his own donor-built network as soon as it was built, while continuing to plead for contributions to "keep 24 hour a day Christian programming on the air" for four months after the sale had taken place! The public had no idea that the UCB had been sold to 'infomercial' producer Harry Pappas until the deal was exposed by the media. All Christian shows gradually disappeared from the UCB's programming, with the exception of Haus's "Coast to Coast" production which, like Robertson's "The 700 Club," is a major money-maker for the good Reverend.

It's all about money, and that's all there is to it. Even when the sale was exposed, in May of 1995, the Rev. Haus continued with his fund raising. In fact, he didn't actually get around to admitting it until August, three months after the sale had taken place. And the following month he sent a letter, through the US Postal Service, asking for "generous gifts of love to keep Great Christian programming on Channel 42 (UCB) on the air." Under the circumstances, as in Robertson's case, one would think, "There's no way anybody is going to buy that!" But they do. And in spite of the blatant hypocrisy and more than questionable fund-raising tactics, the money keeps pouring in.

Also as in Robertson's case, no investigations of the UCB have taken place, despite repeated demands from donors who felt that their money was stolen from them, despite the apparent mail fraud, market fraud, and the flaunting of both IRS and FCC regulations.

In spite of all this data, the NRB (National Religious Broadcasters), whose very reason for being is to make religious broadcasters accountable and to demand ethical fund-raising practices from their stations, looked the other way. This comes as no surprise when we learn the Rev. Ronn Haus sits on their Board of Directors.

So much for the Reverend Robertson's business practices. Now it's time to look a little more closely at the man who wants your money.

Who and what is Pat Robertson?

He preaches Christian character.  What kind of Christian character does he have?

He preaches morals.  What kind of morals does he have?

He raises money on the abortion issue.  How sincere is he?

Is he truly committed to the political issues he espouses regarding 'family values'?

He professes to be led by God.  Does he really believe in God?

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