Posts by JeffT

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

I agree with what Simon said. Here's a point to ponder.

After smuggling, bribery, blackmail, extortion, and God only knows how many murders, when the Feds finally nailed Al Capone they got him for (drum roll); Tax Evasion. Yes, Karma's a bitch. Just my two cents but I don't think LE is improving his karma.

This is just an opinion, but I was an accountant for twenty-six years. I think there are questions about LE's finances that deserve answers. Maybe there's nothing there, maybe its just poor financial management. When you solicit money from the public, you owe honesty, forthrightness and transparency to those supporting you.

Edited to add: I just did some research on US Tax law. I saw enough to be comfortable advising you to get a Certified Public Accountant or Tax Attorney familiar with US tax law if you don't already have one.

13

Congratulations US team, you played yourself..

by MeanMrMustard in

.. so said one of the comments on the latest video from nate the lawyer:.

https://youtu.be/_f_sehu3674.

it is an interesting case of why "equal pay" isn't quite what you think it is.

JeffT

According to google, average pay for an accountant is $58,000/year. Average pay for a pole dancer is $67,000. I'd sue somebody but probably the judge will tell me that nobody wants to watch an accountant work.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

When I was in accounting school one of professors made this comment. "The first rule of law is sue somebody with money." I would guess that few XJW's have the kind of money that gets the attention of lawyers.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

I agree with Vienne. I've written before ( I think to some extent on this thread) about my wife and I spending a year researching the history and doctrines of the WTBS. This was in 1988-89, there was no internet. I still follow JW related topics because I find it interesting. I will cheerfully tell anyone who asks what I found out, but I do not feel any need to bang on doors to convert others to my "cause." (Is what Lloyd doing that different?) I've never needed a Lloyd Evans to expose the Watchtower for me.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

I'm not sure he'd have much to worry about, there. Discovery is not a fishing expedition. If he sued someone for defaming him, and their strategy was to use the discovery phase to get his phone/email/etc records, I think they'd be in for a very rude surprise, unless they had very specific requests for very specific records.

Not true, at least in US courts. I've been deposed more than once. A defense attorney can ask for all kinds of things. For example, take the matter of did he or did he not use Patreon funds to pay for prostitutes. He is on public record saying he did not, and he's being libeled. The defense attorney can demand ALL of his bank records, and go through them line by line making him explain what he was paying for and where the money came from. (I've been through a deposition just like that.)

The defense attorney can depose Evans, his wife, his family, her family, members of his congregation you name it. He doesn't have a choice not to answer, the defense lawyer can just have the judge dismiss the case.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

If I was Lloyd Evans the first thing I'd do would be scrape up some money and hire a really good criminal defense lawyer.

The second thing I'd do is take that lawyers advice, which would be "STFU" in no uncertain terms.

From there on out, the lawyer would do EVERYTHING.

The above applies whether you think you're guilty or not, no rethink that. If you're innocent, those first two steps get really important, really fast.

I don't know what, if anything, he's guilty of. But he's being really stupid about how he handles the whole thing.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

Here's an interesting tidbit I picked up today. Croatia does not have an extradition treaty with the US.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

Regarding financial malfeasance:

There is an easy way for Evans to make this go away. If he has another source of income (I'm not aware of one, but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist) and puts the money in a separate bank account, then he can demonstrate he is not using Patron funds for his trips to Thailand. All he needs to do is open the books.

I only know about nonprofit laws in the US, although I would think they are not that different in England or Croatia. In the US a nonprofit MUST have a board of directors that votes on such matters as salaries for officers, or firing them if needed. Nonprofits also have their own tax form to file with the IRS.

I'm not sure what the requirements for handling donations across international borders. I may try to some research (I'm buried at the moment trying to get the next novel up on Amazon). He may have to file a US return if his patrons are listing their donations as tax deductible. The US Internal Revenue Service is VERY touchy about these things, it is an area open to abuse.

Separate issue. If I recall correctly, part of AAWA's problems came from Evan's use of the John Cedars name when they incorporated. In the state they were in (New Mexico or Arizona) the corporate officers had to be citizens of the state, and they had to use legal names. Evans didn't live there, and obviously "John Cedars" wasn't his legal name. Am I remembering this correctly?

Jeff Thomas

retired accountant

17

New Book - The Reluctant Prostate

by Simon in

hey everyone, i'm writing a new book.. it's the entirely fictional story about a character called "roy devons", an obese clown who was kicked out of clown college because he couldn't stop touching himself.

he launches his own youtube channel where he tells the world how wrong and unfunny clowns really are.

the world already knows this, and never really had much todo with clowns anyway, although some other ex-clowns felt like they needed to be reminded regularly of their past lives.. he hits upon the idea of asking for donations to support efforts to convince ex-clowns to get their prostates checked.

JeffT

I've thought of a couple of jokes involving Alec Baldwin and shooting blanks, but they're in such bad taste even this thread is inappropriate for them.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

Really most of the people who woke up in the last ten years learned everything from PAUL GRUNDY, Barb Anderson, Jim penton and others who wrote books or posted what they learned on this site.

Lloyd just makes it easier for lazy People to access this information.

This.

My wife and I left in 1988, at that time there was no internet (at least not that we could access). We spent a year researching the Watchtower. We did most of it at the public library, which had a good selection of works on the Watchtower, starting with CofC. Others that stick out in my memory are "Apostles of Denial" by Edmond Gruss; "The Four Major Cults" by Anthony Hoekma, and Walter Martin's "Jehovah of the Watchtower."

I'm quite sure that doing all the heavy lifting on our own was good for us. Our decision to leave the religion was grounded in our understanding of what was wrong with it. For some time I've held an opinion that if the WTBS disappeared a good number of witnesses would just go find somebody else to follow. I think we may be seeing something very like that in operation. It seems that a good number of witnesses may have traded the GB for Lloyd Evans, because they can't see the similarities, and they haven't trained themselves to properly address the issues.

Because of all that work we did, my wife and I have a much better understanding of what is wrong with all cults, not just one.