By Lisa Myers and Rich Gardella, NBC News Investigative Unit
This post is an update to an earlier version from Wednesday, March 12. See the latest on this investigation here.
Two U.S. senators sent out a new round of letters today to some of the nation’s most high-profile televangelists, urging them to turn over key financial records. The senators told the ministries that they want to know how their “non-profit organizations are structured and operate,” amid allegations that some of the televangelists have misused church funds to enrich themselves.
One of the letters was mailed today to televangelists Randy and Paula White, who founded the Without Walls International Church in Tampa 16 years ago, calling it "the perfect church for people who are not."
After a month-long investigation, NBC News has learned that some former staffers and members have left the Whites' church after becoming disillusioned with its increasing focus on donations. Several former Without Walls insiders with years of experience working for the church told NBC News the same thing: in the past few years, the church started to become more and more about making money and fame for the Whites. They claim the Whites' constant appeals for donated money has helped enrich the Whites themselves.
NBC News talked to more than a half-dozen former Without Walls church staffers, and examined public records and some internal church documents. Most of the ex-staffers would only speak to NBC on condition of anonymity, saying they feared retaliation by the Whites.
Some of the staffers said that the Whites sometimes urged followers to make checks out to them personally.
For example, a church spreadsheet obtained by NBC News lists $43,129 in so-called "personal offerings" to Paula White from one event in September 2005. NBC News also saw copies of checks made out to Randy White.
One long-time former church insider, who asked to remain anonymous, said such payments were part of a troubling pattern.
“It says to me that they were shearing the sheep,” the former insider said, a charge that the church denies.
The insider and five other former staffers say the Whites sometimes took cash from uncounted donations, misused church funds for personal expenses and even pressured the faithful to take equity out of their homes to boost church donations.
“They came up with every kind of idea possible to get money, to make money,” the church insider said.
Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Max Baucus, D-Mont., of the Senate Finance Committee said they sent the new letters to the Whites and three other televangelists to remind them that “the committee’s jurisdiction includes the federal tax policy governing the billions of dollars donated to and controlled by the nation’s tax-exempt groups.”
Grassley first wrote to the Whites last November. He also sent letters to: Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church, Inc. and Benny Hinn Ministries of Grapevine, Texas; David and Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo.; Kenneth and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas; Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Bishop Eddie Long Ministries of Lithonia, Ga., and Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International and Creflo Dollar Ministries of College Park, Ga.
The Whites’ Without Walls International Church is a tax-exempt megachurch based in Tampa, Fla. It began in a Tampa storefront in 1991 by its then-husband-and-wife founders, Randy and Paula White. The Whites built the church from scratch. They reached out to the disconnected - the poor, the homeless, drug addicts, gang members, ex-convicts, prostitutes - providing various ministry services and outreach, and winning accolades. One year they received the ceremonial "Keys to the City" of Tampa in recognition of their work.
Without Walls grew dramatically during the past decade, eventually occupying a compound of buildings near Tampa's main airport, plus a second site in Lakeland, Fla. As of 2006 it claimed more than 23,000 regular attendees, ranking it as the second-largest church in the U.S., one of the top five fastest-growing.
Over the years, it became a multimedia empire, devoted to preaching the “gospel of prosperity:” the belief that God wants believers to be wealthy but that, for that to happen, believers must first give money to God.
It was this central message, one shared by other big evangelical Christian megachurches, that helped bring them to the attention of Senate Finance Committee investigators.
The Whites have long asked believers to "sow seeds" and give "first fruits" to pay money to God in the form of regular church tithes and other offerings. God, they claimed, would then return money back to them in multiples.
"God will give the finances to you," exclaims Randy White in a recent webcast sermon posted on the church's Web site, "if He can get them through you!"
"God is going to speak to you to sow a one-week's salary. He's going to speak to you to sow one month’s salary,” Paula White has told her followers. “I want you to get up and go to the phone and to obey God!”
Cindy Fleenor was one such believer. Over the years, she gave thousands of dollars in donations to religious ministries, including the Whites.
“We're taught if we don't pay our tithes and give offering and alms that we're robbing God and we're under a curse," Fleenor told NBC News.
Over the years, donations to the Whites' ministries have grown significantly. In 2006, according to an audit of Without Walls International Church released by the Whites last year, "tithes and offerings" were its biggest source of revenue, totaling $35 million.
Despite that revenue, Without Walls was $26 million in debt, according to the same audit.
NBC News found Florida public records suggesting that debt is from large mortgages taken out on church properties during the past few years. One Without Walls board member, Alick Clark, told NBC News both the large oustanding debt and the mortgages, were a "complete surprise" to him.
During the same period, the Whites appear to have prospered. The Senate investigators, who sent the Whites and five other ministries requests for internal financial information last November, want to know how the Whites were able to afford, among other things:
* a $2.1 million waterfront home in Tampa;
* a $3.5 million condominium at Trump Park Ave. in New York City;
* an expensive Bentley convertible, which an NBC News camera spotted Randy White driving to church this month.
And how much they collected in personal incomes: reportedly as much as $1 million each.
"Questions need to be asked," Senator Grassley told NBC News in a recent interview.
"Questions need to be answered."
Many of the questions regarding the Whites were first raised through a series of front-page investigative articles published by the Tampa Tribune newspaper last year.
Last summer, the Tampa Tribune first reported the news that the Whites had divorced.
Since divorcing Randy White, Paula White has pursued an increasingly separate career through Paula White Ministries, the Without Walls church's media ministry, as a life coach and host of a syndicated religious program, Paula Today. She reportedly has relocated to San Antonio, Texas and frequently works from there on her life-coaching ministry called "Life By Design." But both Whites remain active in Without Walls and their organizations' finances remain entwined around the same financial foundation.
This month, the Tampa Tribune broke the news that the Whites had listed church properties for sale, including the buildings in Tampa, without informing board member Alick Clark. The Tribune then reported that Clark had submitted his resignation from the board.
Former staffers say that the Whites and their church urged members to tap 401(k) accounts or home equity loans to give even greater amounts and charged substantial fees for some church services - for example, $1,000 or more for mandatory ministerial training for those who ended up serving only as unpaid church laborers.
Several of the former staffers claimed the Whites themselves encouraged members to make checks payable to the Whites personally.
NBC News viewed copies of checks from one former staffer payable to "Pastor Randy White," including one in the amount of several thousand dollars. Another staffer told NBC about personally witnessing deposits of such checks directly into the Whites' personal accounts.
NBC News called some of the more than 200 individuals on the church spreadsheet listing "personal offerings" to Paula White totaling $43,129, for one single appearance in September 2005. All the individuals called confirmed the gifts, but some said they had been under the impression they were donating to Paula White's organization rather than to Paula White herself.
Two former staffers made a more specific assertion: they claimed Paula White collected personal payments for appearances and speaking engagements directly from undocumented donated monies, and used the money for personal expenses.
All the former staffers question whether all the donated money went to appropriate church expenses. Although the 2006 audit, the only one released, claims that 81 percent of unrestricted donations went for ministry missions and outreach activities as of 2006, several former staffers claim they had direct knowledge that church money routinely paid for non-church expenses - including expensive gifts to other churches' ministers and personal trips on the church's private jet and on commercial flights.
Insiders pointed to the church's spending on travel as excessive. The church purchased used a Gulfstream II corporate jet 2006 for $1.5 million, but also chartered others. Staffers claimed Paula White's personal demands frequently increased travel costs, and occasionally generated frivolous trips.
"I thought we blew a lot of money out of the tail of that jet," said one former staffer.
Several former staffers told NBC News that church's credit card paid for at least one personal vacation trip via commercial airline. One source was aware of several such commercial trips.
Insiders said in recent years, individuals approaching Without Walls for financial help have been turned away, told there's no money for that kind of support, particulary those who hadn't donated.
A pastor of a small local church which had partnered with Without Walls on local food drives told NBC News he severed his ties with the Whites last year after Without Walls failed to follow through on a commitment to conduct an Easter food drive for Tampa's needy. The pastor claimed the Whites had made an appeal on nationally distributed television programs for donations to support such a drive. The pastor claimed he had coordinated food deliveries for Without Walls food drives in the past. But despite his repeated promptings this time, he claims, the church simply didn’t do the event. The Whites declined to answer specific questions about this allegation. The pastor spoke to NBC News on the condition that he not be quoted by name or interviewed on-camera.
"It didn't look like a church at all," said the former staffer member who agreed to the on-camera interview. "I mean, it didn't look like, you know, God's money was being used properly."
One thing that didn't look like a church was the infomercial Randy and Paula White made promoting the sale of Omega XL, a nutritional supplement. The Whites claim their activities on behalf of Omega XL were part of one of their legal, for-profit businesses. But several former staffers attest that the infommercial was produced using Without Walls church studios, equipment and personnel. The Whites declined to respond to a question about whether their for-profit company compensated the church for that use.
The Whites' church is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) church organization. According to the IRS "Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations," all churches registered as tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations "must be organized and operated exclusively for religious, educational, scientific, or other charitable purposes" and "are prohibited from engaging in activities which result in inurement of the church's or organization's income or assets to insiders," including ministers. That's the government's way of saying that a tax-exempt church's income or assets must not enrich its ministers.
According to IRS rules, 501(c)(3) churches are not only tax-exempt but also are not required to publicly release IRS filings. Without Walls Church does not release its IRS filings and declined specific requests to do so from NBC News. The church Web site does not include specific information about its governance - it does not even include a list of church officers or members of its board of directors.
Previously, the Whites have claimed their wealth comes from appropriate and legal compensation, comparable to what other non-profit CEOs earn. They also have claimed additional wealth from for-profit business ventures - including a real estate company, a travel agency and sales of the nutritional supplement promoted in their infommercial.
The Whites and their church organization declined to be interviewed by NBC or to answer detailed questions. They've denied any wrong-doing, and directed NBC News to their previous public statement concerning the Senate Finance Committee's inquiries:
"We take our financial responsibilities to our partners very seriously, the statement read, "and to the best of our knowledge we comply with all tax laws. Our audited financial statements appear on our website." (Since our report aired on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, the link to these statements on the Without Walls International Church Web site has been down.)
But, in a rare two-hour taped interview last April with Tampa Tribune/WFLA-TV reporter Michelle Bearden, they faced some of the same questions NBC News asked. They refused to divulge their own personal incomes, but claimed they donate 10 percent of both each year.
MICHELLE BEARDEN/Tampa Tribune-WFLA-TV REPORTER:
"So do you wanna tell what your income is? Your personal income?"
RANDY WHITE:
"Now, what do YOU think?" (LAUGHTER)
In the same interview, they claimed any negative allegations from former church staffers or members about them or their church organization were short-lived "blips on the radar."
RANDY WHITE: "The brighter the lights, the more bugs you attract...There are people who like to take cheap shots... We've done a lot of good in this community, a lot of good. And I think you've got just a teeny bit, a few percentage of people who want to take cheap shots."
Since receiving the first letter from Sen. Grassley of the Senate Finance Committee in November, the Whites have not provided any answers to the Senate. When Cindy Fleenor first heard that, and learned more about the Whites’ lifestyle, she stopped giving money. “I felt like I was deceived and been taken advantage of,” she said.
But on Wednesday, Senator Grassley said that the Whites have now agreed to cooperate with the Senate investigation. The Senate has given them until the end of the month to provide documents, and answers.
The Whites' former church members and staffers say they are speaking out in the hope of further investigation of the financial activities of the Whites and their church by federal authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service. In the case of the IRS, further investigation will be aided by proximity. A local IRS office sits right next door to Without Walls International Church.
Linda Fecteau and Luke Mayo contributed to this report.
