The Treasury arm of the Mormon Church is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for efforts to keep its multi-billion dollar mutual fund secret.

Earlier this week, whistleblower David Nielsen, a former employee of Ensign Peak Advisors, the church’s investment firm, testified that the fund maintained unreported overseas accounts, made misleading statements to the IRS, and made fraudulent statements to the SEC.

The SEC has typically imposed fines for these types of violations. According to the Wall Street Journal, the amount of the fines demanded by the investigators is currently unknown. The fund is believed to be managing around $100 billion worth of investments.

An LDS spokesman, Doug Anderson, did not confirm the investigation, telling the newspaper, “The church works with many state regulators to ensure we are complying with the law. We take this responsibility very seriously.”

Dubbed the “rainy day fund,” the church’s biggest investments include Apple, Google’s parent company Alphabet, Tesla, Meta, JP Morgan Chase and Exxon.

The world headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. Church members must give up 10 percent of their annual income to remain in good standing

Whistleblower David Nielsen, a former employee of Ensign Peak Advisors, the church’s investment firm, testified that the fund maintained accounts abroad, made misleading statements to the IRS, and made fraudulent statements to the SEC

According to current and former employees, the holdings include $40 billion in US stocks, in addition to investments in well-known hedge funds such as Bridgewater Associates LP and Woodland in the Florida Panhandle.

Investment companies are required by law to publish the names of the US stocks they manage. The coverage is known as 13-F.

US law states that ignorance or oversight is not a defense because investigators do not need to show intent to break the law, only that the law was broken.

A former SEC investigator, Robert Plaze, told the WSJ, “The SEC is concerned when people don’t file their 13-F reports because it’s information the market isn’t receiving that it is legally entitled to.” ”

Nielsen first began whistling about Ensign’s activities in 2019. He claimed that the church used charitable donation funds for financial investments.

Church members worldwide are encouraged to give 10 percent of their income to the Church as tithing.

Nielsen argued the church owes billions of dollars in taxes and he wants a cut of that as part of a reward the IRS is offering to whistleblowers.

His report claimed that Ensign made no charitable donations, despite being considered a tax-exempt charity.

He also said the company illegally used tax-exempt donations to salvage two failed business ventures during the recession, specifically a life insurance company and construction of the City Creek Center.

Companies found guilty of reporting crimes are typically fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission

Officials have denied any wrongdoing, and Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse said: “It is not an issue. Tomorrow we can sell it and it will come back with a return.’

This week, Roger Clarke, the leader of Ensign, told the WSJ, “Paying tithing is more of a sense of obligation than that the church needs the money.”

“So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like they shouldn’t be contributing.”

After Nielsen went public with his allegations, church officials defended how they use and invest donations from members.

The vast majority of member donations are used to fund church operations, temples, missions, education and humanitarian needs, while another portion “is methodically secured through wise financial management and building a prudent reserve for future use,” church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement in December 2019.

Officials admit the fund’s overall size is being kept tightly closed as Ensign Peak relies on tithes of its 16 million followers worldwide.

David Nielsen wants Ensign’s tax withholdings cut as payment for his testimony

Ensign is registered as a Church Sponsorship and Integrated Relief Organization, which allows it to operate as a nonprofit and earn money largely tax-free, as long as it serves religious, educational, or charitable purposes only.

Nielsen claims the Church has not directly funded these three categories for more than two decades.

Aside from public reporting, the church does not share with business partners how much money it and Ensign Peak employees sign on lifetime confidentiality agreements.

Former employees say that current employees are no longer privy to the company’s overall assets and have little knowledge of what the money is being used for.

“We’ve tried to remain reasonably anonymous,” Clarke said. He also said the $100 billion in savings will be used during tough financial times.

A former employee said occasional lunches between Ensign Peak and the church arm raised questions about the purpose of the money.

The church announced last year that since 1985 it has given 197 countries $2.2 billion in aid, including cash, goods and donations in kind.

This week, a statement from the church said it was sending food, clothing, blankets, medical supplies, medicines, shelter, water, toiletries and other items to help victims of this week’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Carolyn Homer, a member in Virginia, decided to tithe less and give more to other charities after learning about Ensign Peak.

Roger Clark (pictured) told WSJ, “Paying tithing is more of a sense of obligation than that the church needs the money.”

Carolyn Homer, a member in Virginia, said this week: “When I hear members of the Church say, ‘It’s none of your business how rich we are,’ to me it accurately reflects the Scriptures that we worship, and that not in the right way’

In the Book of Mormon, God denounces churches for prioritizing wealth over helping the poor.

She said, ‘When I hear members of the Church say, ‘It’s none of your business how rich we are,’ to me it echoes the very scriptures we worship, and not in a good way.”

Ever since Nielsen’s complaint, members have been at odds about tithing and the way the church manages finances.

Lasi Kioa, a 61-year-old Tongan immigrant and lifelong church member, told WSJ, “They are using it well. You help other people. They build the church. I believe in that.’

Member Sam Brunson, a professor of tax law at Loyola University, wants the church to use the $100 billion to help those in need.

“They could make a good contribution to eradicating malaria or repairing Puerto Rico’s power grid,” he said, adding that the church could potentially change the way it approaches tithing and have charitable members instead could have donated.

Tax attorneys have debated whether Ensign Peak broke any laws, as Nielsen claims, but Brunson doesn’t think so.

Though frustrating, he says the Church’s actions are legal.

He said, “I’m a stakeholder in the church, and society has a stake in the church too. Even though I’m willing to tithe blindly, I’d love to see what happens with that money.’

Hundreds of people gathered to mourn the loss of Adriana Kuch, 14, who was beaten in the halls of a New Jersey school for two days before killing herself, as video of the incident circulated online.

New Jersey’s Central Regional School District Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides told in a heartless smear campaign against Adriana – who killed herself in her bedroom closet on February 3, two days after she was beaten – that her counseling “about drugs” had been offered. .

The embattled principal snuck out of his office at the Ocean County school and told he had “nothing more to say” when asked if his previous comments were an attempt to shift blame away from the administration, and whether he believed them to be insensitive.

Pupils and parents rallied outside the school grounds and held signs of protest at what they described as a “shocking lack of sensitivity” and actions by “the administration which has sworn to protect them”.

Luca Canzoneri, 15, spoke to after another protest organized by students at Ocean County School.

New Jersey’s Central Regional School District Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides was seen Friday trying to sneak out of his office

Students at Central Regional High School are protesting Adriana’s suicide as a result of bullying, Friday said

Adriana’s father said she was “embarrassed” by the attack video circulating online and was being harassed by the bullies on social media and in texts

He said that he was introduced to Adriana through friends and they would sit down for lunch.

The 15-year-old said he was devastated by the loss and amazed at the lack of action from the school he attends.

“We’re trying to raise awareness because her death was necessary to bring to light the seriousness of the bullying at headquarters and that they are doing absolutely nothing,” he said.

‘The [administration] made fun of us for protesting,” he claimed.

Standing on the school oval, with friends and parents, Luca explained that raising awareness comes with risks.

Students and parents gathered in front of the school grounds and held up protest signs

The students described what they saw as “a shocking lack of sensitivity” and actions by “the administration sworn to protect them.”

“The school suspends people when they protest, yesterday there was a protest with fewer people than today but they were all suspended,” he claimed.

It remains unclear how many children have been suspended following protests that broke out after Adriana’s suicide.

Danielle Ledesma said she doesn’t know Adriana but was speaking on what some members of the community have described as a systemic problem of bullying and a lack of action by school staff.

Danielle held a sign that read “I doubt it” and told it wasn’t the first time the school hadn’t acted after a student asked her for help.

Parlapanides did his best to avoid answering ‘s Friday afternoon questioning

The embattled headmaster told he had “nothing left to say”.

Central Regional High School in Bayville, New Jersey

Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides’ officer is pictured above

The 14-year-old New Jersey teenager killed herself days after she was seen being attacked by bullies in the hallways of the high school – and school officials failed to intervene

Adriana killed herself shortly after 10:46 p.m. on February 2

“My mark is the superintendent’s response when my friend said she was sexually assaulted at Central Regional High School,” she said.

“I’ve been bullied badly my entire life,” she explained, speaking of the treatment she receives at school.

Danielle added that she “had daily panic attacks at school” because of the way she was treated.

“It got to the point where I now have all these meltdowns, all these crying fits, panic attacks, whatever it is more than 5-6 times a day, every time I have one at school they absolutely do nothing,’ she said.

“There was a point where I told the teacher to get away from me and they continued to pull me down for guidance because I was skipping class, even though the teacher knew I was out there, I told her, she should kindly leave me alone and she never pushed again.

“We’re all out here losing our voices so Adriana doesn’t lose hers”

Jennifer O, who did not give her full name for fear of repercussions, is the parent of a student at the school and told that not only were students bullying children, but that staff were “just as guilty” of incidents of bullying.

According to her father, Kuch was “hit in the face three times with a water bottle” and “fainted.” He then had to take his daughter, who was covered in blood, to the police station to file a complaint because the school refused

Adriana’s injured legs after the attack. Her father said she was mostly “humiliated” by the video, which made her feel like she was attacked “twice”.

One of the girls involved in the attack posted these heartless messages on Snapchat. Adriana’s father said: “You used to go to school, you were bullied and then you left. But now you come home and you keep getting bullied – they still pick on you at home.

“Our house is one of those houses that the kids love to come and hang out in, and Adriana was at my house just a week before she died,” Jennifer said.

“I think back to her being there and I wish I had known so I could have hugged her or told her everything was going to be fine and I was there for her.

“Teachers can also be bullied at this school and they are equally to blame.”

Earlier Friday, in stunning emails to , Parlapanides, the superintendent of New Jersey’s $190,000-a-year Central Regional School District, said Adriana – who passed away on February 3, two days after she was beaten killed in her bedroom closet – was offered “drugs” counseling.

He also made a shocking allegation against the girl’s grieving father, Michael, a 22-year-old Army veteran, claiming he “had an affair” when Adriana was seven, which drove her mother to suicide and later “the woman brought into the house”.

That “woman” is Adriana’s stepmother, Michael’s wife Sarah, who tearfully spoke to on Friday morning as they prepared Adriana for the visit ahead of her funeral tomorrow.

Parlapanides made a shocking allegation against the girl’s grieving father, Michael, a 22-year-old Army veteran, who claimed he “had an affair” when Adriana was seven, who later drove her mother to suicide, “about the woman.” to bring home.” Stepmother Sarah can be seen

Adriana killed herself shortly after 10:46 p.m. on February 2. The bullies who attacked her threatened to go after her boyfriend next and had been bombarding her with harassing messages all day.

The emails from Parlapanides – which come a week after Adriana’s suicide – were in response to a series of questions from whether she had received support from the school.

She killed herself two days after being ruthlessly mocked about the attack on social media.

When asked what services had been rendered to her, Parlapanides said, “Afterward [Adriana’s] Mother committed suicide because her father was having an affair [sic] at the end of her 6th grade.

‘Her father married the woman he was having an affair with and moved into the house with her.

“Her grades and choices deteriorated in 7th and 8th grade.

“We offered her drug rehabilitation and psychiatric treatment five times, but father refused each time.”

This is the email reply Parlapanides sent to when asked what advice Adriana received. He claimed her “decisions were rejected” that her mother committed suicide “because her father was having an affair”.

He then claimed, “We tried to help her several times, but the mother’s suicide was one of the main reasons she started making bad decisions.”

Michael Kuch previously explained to how Adriana’s mother had battled addiction and tragically died in 2015 when Adriana was just seven years old.

He dismissed Parlapanides’ claims that his daughter had been offered “drug counseling”, instead explaining that he and his wife were seeking help for her because she had smoked marijuana with a vape – like many children at school.

“I don’t know how to react to this insane distraction,” Mr. Kuch replied to the superintendent’s emails.

“This guy is a piece of shit,” he said while preparing for his daughter’s funeral tomorrow.

In addition to his emails to , Parlapanides – the city’s highest-paid school administrator – also defended himself on Facebook, claiming that “there are two sides to every story” after an alumni saw the news of Adriana’s death and said it would be her Never send children to school.

In stunning emails to , Central Regional School District Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said Adriana – who killed herself in her bedroom closet on February 3, two days after she was beaten – was seeking advice “about drugs ‘ been offered.

Parlapanides is responsible for three schools; He has served as Superintendent for 14 years. Adriana’s father believes the school abandoned his daughter because she didn’t call the police to the bullies after the attack.

Adriana killed herself after seeing her taunts on social media and after one of the girls sent her a direct message laughing about it.

“I can’t tell you how angry I am at the school and the police… If these videos hadn’t been posted these girls would have ended up with a one day suspension or no issues at all.

‘The [school] did nothing. They shouldn’t be responsible for the safety of our children.’

What drove her to kill herself, he says, was the fact that she was “embarrassed” by the rapidly circulating videos of the attack on TikTok and Snapchat.

“She was so embarrassed that they jumped on her. She would say, “I don’t want to be mocked.”

“It was as if she had been attacked twice. You used to go to school, get bullied and then leave.

“But now you come home and you keep getting bullied – they still pick on you at home.”

The school was sued last year by another girl’s family who claim she was “attacked” in the hallways.

The day after the beating, Adriana stayed home from school.

She lived with her father, stepmother, 16-year-old brother and two stepsisters.

Her mother tragically died when she was seven years old.

“Her father says the school staff told her that because they didn’t want bullies to make fun of her swelling or bruising.

“We spent time together…she decided she wanted to go back to school the next day.

“She went to her boyfriend’s house during the day. I got home around 5 o’clock.

“We had McDonald’s and I got her her favorite – the crispy chicken sandwich.

“We’d have dinner, we’d talk about friends and make life decisions … I kind of liked lecturing her.

“We had a great conversation [my wife and I] said we wanted her to hang out with good people and tried to explain to her how that would help in life.

“She was in a good mood,” he said. The family said good night and went to their separate bedrooms.

Adriana with her boyfriend Jason who was trying to pull the other girls away from him and protect them

Cameras inside the home showed Adriana walking from her bedroom in the converted basement to the kitchen for snacks around 10pm.

Now her father knows from her cell phone logs that she was online texting with her boyfriend.

He also knows that she received a direct message from one of the girls involved mocking her about the video and the beating.

He says it made fun of her for “dripping” blood and that she got her “a** whoops.”

The last text Adriana sent to her boyfriend at 10.46pm was.

“You can’t even tell me the time of day,” she said. S

At 5 a.m., her stepmother went down to her room to wake her up. Mr. Kuch remembers hearing them “scream”.

“I was in the kitchen, the woman went downstairs [to wake Adriana] And I just heard her scream no

“I ran downstairs and immediately see that her bed is empty. At first I thought, “Did she sneak off to her boyfriend?”

‘So I turned left and saw them in the closet. She was wearing the same clothes she had worn the day before. I had just bought her a brown jacket. She loved that jacket.”

The family is preparing for a private visit today. Adriana’s funeral is tomorrow.

The four girls have now been charged; three with fourth-degree assault and one with disorderly conduct. It is unclear whether they will be prosecuted as adults or minors.

The New Jersey Department of Education has been asked for comment.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for more help and information.

Presidents of the United States, Joe Biden, and Brazil, Lula da Silva, at the White House this Friday JONATHAN ERNST (Portal)

This Friday, US President Joe Biden welcomed his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Washington for his third official foreign visit since taking office on January 1. In a brief joint statement at the White House, Biden invoked defending democracy and the rule of law as shared values. The attack on the Capitol in 2021 and that on the headquarters of the government, Congress and Supreme Court in Brasilia just two years later, with scenes copied from the first, bring the two leaders closer, resolute in their active defence of democracy, on the other hand, their predecessors. Lula has stressed that he wants to “replace Brazil in world geopolitics because the country has been isolated and marginalized for four years,” with a president who is “degrading international relations,” alluding to Jair Bolsonaro. “That sounds familiar,” Biden said.

Both have met behind closed doors to discuss an agenda that has centered on climate change alongside defending democracy, the economy, global issues (with the war in Ukraine at the forefront) and regional issues like the US relationship USA with South America and Mercosur. After the meeting, the Brazilian president announced that the US will help protect the Amazon, although he didn’t say exactly how. “Taking care of the Amazon today is taking care of planet Earth,” he said.

The two presidents agreed on “their categorical rejection of extremism and violence in politics” as well as the need to address the threat of climate change, with a remarkable consensus on protecting the world’s largest tropical forest, that of the Amazon. Lula’s election victory made it possible to revive a special relief fund. But the proximity to these issues collides with their differing opinions on the war in Ukraine, in which Lula condemns the Russian invasion but splits responsibility between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy given the seamless support from Washington to Kiev.

The Democrat has tried, with varying degrees of success, to rally the global South to support Ukraine, arguing that all nations have a responsibility to resist a superpower’s bloody and unprovoked invasion of a neighboring country. Lula, for his part, has rejected calls from the West for arms to support Kiev because he does not want to be indirectly involved in the conflict. In addition, he has attempted to establish himself as a statesman capable of mediating between the two sides, and has proposed the creation of a “peace club” of countries that can contribute to a negotiated settlement. Lula himself, in an interview with CNN before his appointment to the White House, has stated that the Russian invasion was “a mistake that we now have to fix” and that he refuses to arm Kiev: “If I send ammunition, I step in start the war and want to end the war”.

Sources from the Brazilian delegation confirmed in Washington that Lula would propose to his host “a negotiated debate on peace in Ukraine that would include the involvement of more neutral world actors in the conflict,” such as China, India, Brazil, Indonesia or Turkey, including the former BRICS.

Regarding China, which Biden believes is the biggest long-term threat to US interests, as demonstrated by the recent diplomatic crisis – following the downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon and this Friday a suspicious object over Alaskan waters – Brazil’s main trading partner and Lula intend to strengthen bilateral ties with an official visit in March, a trip that Brazilian officials quoted by the Washington Post say will have a more solid agenda than this Friday’s meeting with Biden.

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The Brazilian thanked the American for his closeness in the happiest and most tense moment of recent months. Biden was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Lula on his victory and spoke to the Petista after the Jan. 8 uprising in Brazil to invite him to the White House. However, it was 505 days before he called Bolsonaro, who had questioned the legitimacy of his November 2020 election. Lula’s visit comes just 40 days after he took power. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two presidents, although they have known each other since 2009, when Biden was Barack Obama’s vice president.

Referring to his predecessor at the Planalto Palace, Lula called him a “loyal copycat” of Donald Trump and said there was no way he would return to the presidency. In the interview with CNN, the Brazilian President recalled that the judiciary is investigating Bolsonaro for inciting an attack on democracy, although he stressed that he had no intention of asking Biden for the extradition of the far right, who has been living in Florida since stops at the end of December. Lula was convinced that democracy would prevail in his country, although he warned of the existence of a far-right international in the world, an “organized movement” present in countries like Spain, France, Hungary or Germany.

The former labor leader used the morning before heading to the White House to meet with Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders, dean of the party’s left-most faction, and other Democratic congressmen like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who expressed their support for him expressed. Lula embodied the “threat to democracy from the far right” in the characters of Trump and Bolsonaro.

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