Exposé about Mormon church $100 billion tax-exempt investment fund

74-page PDF mentioned in the article: https://www.scribd.com/document/439385879/Letter-to-an-IRS-Director

A 7-minute video introduction: https://youtu.be/DXOWRN19i-4

A 77-minute full video exposé: https://youtu.be/KDlFZF3RyhE

More: Whistleblower Alleges $100 Billion Secret Stockpile By Mormon Church

A secret $100 billion stockpile

The document tallies assets in EPA using downloaded spreadsheets of assets from across its portfolio from March 22, 2018. The document indicates that the firm receives billions each year from tithe revenue — the donations church members make to the church — and estimates EPA assets from tithes and investment growth is more than $100 billion at present.

The organization’s IRS 990-t forms also show an opaque but growing organization. In 2007, the organization listed “investing” as its primary business activity, lists a $1 million book value of all assets at year end. In 2015, it listed a book value “over” $1 million. By 2017, EPA listed “investing in partnerships” as its primary business, did not disclose its book value, reported $17.6 million in capital gain net income and lists $1.25 million as tax overpayment. Meanwhile, a letter on EPA stationery from Jan. 9, 2017, signed by vice president Greg Tarbet offered credit information about the firm saying, “Ensign Peak does not distribute financial statements. Assets, however, are well in excess of $5 billion, and Ensign Peak is essentially without debt.”

An internal EPA slide presentation from 2013 states that during the financial crisis period of 2008 and 2009, the firm “experienced a temporary drawdown” of close to $13 billion, noting that amount was greater than 30 percent of its portfolio at the time.

The whistleblower complaint said EPA had 75 employees in 2019, up from 20 in 2010. They work in a building in Salt Lake City, Utah, (60 East South Temple, Suite 400) that does not have a sign on the building or in the downstairs lobby according to the complaint. The company does not have a public web site. A LinkedIn search of Ensign Peak Advisors lists 64 people who work there including people in typical finance roles such as compliance officer, investment manager, investment analyst, portfolio manager, equity trader, private equity associate and accountant.

“Supporting organizations raise funds. They invest funds. Depending on how the investment fund was set up, it could well be proper,” says Arthur Rieman, an attorney at The Law Firm for Non-Profits in Studio City, Calif. “If it’s set up as an investment fund and increased 1,000 percent in 20 years, that’s a pretty good return.”

The whistleblower document alleges that EPA has given away $0 to religious, educational or charitable purposes. Non-profit experts such as Rieman note that EPA’s registration as a 509(a)3 supporting organization to the LDS Church could protect it from having to make charitable distributions because churches are not required to disclose finances to the public.