Doug Phillips is Being Sued Again - By His Insurance Company

[JumpyTheFrog]

http://spiritualsoundingboard.com/2014/09/04/insurance-company-files-legal-complaint-against-doug-phillips-vision-forum-and-lourdes-torres-manteufel/

 

The insurance company Vision Forum Inc. used is trying to take him to court now. They claim that he lied on the application by not listing Vision Forum Ministries as a separate entity from Vision Forum Inc. 

[idnib]

It sounds like they're looking for a loophole after the fact when it turned out they might have to pay out, but to me the real question is whether they knew and looked the other way until it was going to cost them $$$.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I believe the documents said they canceled his policy in the spring of 2013, long before his cheating and/or abuse was made known to the public.

[FaithManor]

If this the court finds in favor of the insurance company, and the lawsuit goes in favor of Lourdes-Manteufel with a large judgment, then the entire board of directors/trustees could end up personally bankrupt since the judgment would go against their personal assets for not having liability coverage. It could get even more ugly.

 

Then there will be the federal fall out if it is determined that it was a deliberate lie on the application as that is a criminal offense.

 

Also, there is the IRS investigation of both Phillips and the ministry and the VF inc. especially some fuzzy accounting pertaining to wages and reimbursements, as well as the paying of a rather tidy sum of money to VF Inc. for the Jonathon Park series despite the fact that the ministry owned it to begin with and it had been developed through the ministry. I think that transfer was to the tune of $100,00 +, and one has to ask "Where did the money go?" 

 

Mostly, DP has got himself and his either not too smart, or not too ethical, friends into a lot of hot water in addition to his personal perverse activities.

 

Belle needs her own piranha attorney because if she doesn't get some legal representation and get away from him, she and the kids are going to end up living in a beat up van on the street.

[Anne in CA]

Honestly, I never wish any children ill, but I wish I thought that DP would get in so much trouble it might be possible. I am certain that most of the VP money is somewhere in the Cayman Islands and DP will not make any real payouts to the people he has hurt, but he will never be in real financial danger. I would LOVE to be wrong. I really hope I am, but I do not really believe this sort of person pays for their mistakes in this lifetime very often.

[Guest]

Apparently, DP is also attending a church that is not "family integrated" and does not meet other requirements he laid on others.  I have linked it here; the first paragraph is about the Michael Farris statement, but the rest is about the new church.    

 

http://spiritualsoundingboard.com/2014/09/03/doug-phillips-update-and-beall-phillips-publicly-responds-to-michael-farriss-recent-statement/

[FaithManor]

Yes, I find it interesting that he the "membership and excommunication" rules he enforced on other members apparently do not apply to him!

 

As for the money being hid away, if this ends up in Federal Courts it isn't going to be so easy. Increasingly, the US is requiring other countries to hand over the assets of Americans abroad where there is criminal finding against said citizens in order to remain in the US's good graces. There are several countries that have NOT been happy about this. It is possible he will get nailed financially. My assumption is that his passport has been dinged or he would have been gone by now. If he has money safely tucked away in a foreign locale, I cannot imagine why someone with his attitude and refusal to accept responsibility for his actions would continue to hang around waiting for the other shoe to drop. I really think that IF he had the means, he would be gone.

 

Financially, I think he may be in trouble. The ministry owned the house the lived in, his car, Beall's car, the kids' clothing, toys, furniture, EVERYTHING! He only took out around $60,000.00 a year between the ministry and VF inc. in salary, but the two companies were charged for just about every single personal and family expense he had. When he resigned, the board gave him until Dec. 31st of that year - ie. two months - to get out of the house and it included leaving behind EVERYTHING but some personal care items, some clothing, and some toys for the younger kids. The cars, furniture, everything had to stay because it was property of the ministry. At that point, without a home and facing some very rough road ahead, I think he would have left the country if he had the means. My guess is he wasn't good at saving his coins from the salary since all of his expenses were paid for by the company and the ministry.

 

But, if he does have the money, given that the State of Texas is interested in him, lawsuit has been filed in civil court, and the IRS was asked to give him a financial colonoscopy, it's entirely possible that his passport is red flagged.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Isn't he in the same upscale neighborhood now?  How did he manage that?

[Mimm]

As much as I feel sorry for his children (not his wife, who I have heard nothing good about and who sounds like a genuinely scary person), I can't help hoping things completely fall apart for this man. Even before I knew of any outright abuse, I considered his ideas harmful and dangerous. (As did most people here.)