Mormon whistleblower claims church used excess donations to fund businesses

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — During a report which aired Sunday night on “60 Minutes” regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it’s financial matters, a financial whistleblower publicly called the Church’s affiliated investment managing group, “a clandestine hedge fund.”

In February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the church and its fiduciary would be fined a total of $5 million, less than 1% of the wealth it hid from the government since 1997, according to the SEC filing.

Sunday's broadcast was the first time the former manager at the church's investment firm spoke publicly about their allegations against the institution's financial dealings.

David A. Nielsen, a former senior portfolio manager for Ensign Peak Advisors, the Church's investment division, claimsthe LDS church, also referred to as the Mormon church, "stockpiled" at least $100 billion of charitable donations "instead of using them for charitable works."

Nielsen, who helped file an IRS whistleblower complaint and was eventually contacted by the SEC said he did not have the intention of attacking the church.

Lars Nielsen, the twin brother of the whistleblower David Nielsen, said it was a difficult decision for his brother to bring his claims to the IRS.

“David Nielsen is a full member of the Mormon church. He pays his tithes, he goes to church, and he is a temple recommend-carrying member of the Church," Lars said.

David and Lars allegedly created a document and YouTube videos discussing their findings about the church's finances. They started this before they were aware of the IRS whistleblower program.

RELATED |How the SEC believes the LDS Church hid billions of dollars from the public since 1997

Under the whistleblower law, the whistleblower may receive a portion of the unpaid taxes that could be recovered due to the complaint. However, Lars Nielsen clarified that his brother's motivations were not financial.

In the 13-plus minute television piece, the 60 Minutes correspondent also referenced "Mormon Leaks," a whistleblowing organization that focused on exposing the Church. The organization began in 2016 but curtailed operations in 2022.

“I have long maintained, I’ve said many times in the past that the church wants people to believe that they’re a church that dabbles in business, my contention is that they’re a business that dabbles in religion,” said Ryan McKnight, Co-Founder of Mormon Leaks – Truth & Transparency.

“I think the average person looks at it (the report) and they kind of see the black and white issue with the charitable organization not being forthright with their finance and I think that’s clearly true, how much is that illegal, I think is a question mark, unethical, 100%.”

McKnight said he hasn’t ever been concerned with how much money the Church has, it’s how they inform their stakeholders.

In response to the allegations detailed in the report, the LDS Church disputes the allegations by Nielsen, calling them "unfounded."

"It’s unfortunate ‘60 Minutes’ sought to elevate a story based on unfounded allegations by a former employee who has a different view on how the Church should manage its resources," the statement said.

"The Church believes in being financially responsible by carefully ensuring it has adequate resources available to fulfill its divinely appointed responsibilities. To Church members who support the work of salvation through living the gospel of Jesus Christ, caring for those in need, inviting all to receive the gospel and uniting families for eternity, we’ll continue to move forward consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ which makes this world a better place."