A New Home for My Blog

I have moved my blogging activity to a new location, and I'm still blogging about False Prophet Ronald Weinland.
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This Blogspot remains as an archive covering the period of April, 2008 through early July, 2009.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

IRS Criminal Investigation of Ronald Weinland -- No Question

IRS CID badgeThe story of the IRS criminal investigation of False Prophet Ronald Weinland was broken on this blog on August 1 of last year. The news was picked up by a number of other bloggers, including Bob Thiel whose CoGwriter blog is the most highly trafficked COG-related blog. Bob is an apologist for Rod Meredith and the Living CoG and has a Doctorate in alternative medicine. Bob made a few careless statements in his piece that deserve correction.

In my August post, I stated: "Ronald Weinland is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Internal Revenue Service. They are looking into his taxes beginning with tax year 2004 and including all of the years since. An investigation by the IRS CID should not be confused with a more common taxpayer audit."

After reading my post, Bob stated in his responding post: "Of course, just being audited by the IRS, including the criminal portion may or may not be significant as (from what I read in other sources) the IRS is deciding to use their criminal arm more and more even when it is uncalled for–especially for Americans who tend to go overseas somewhat frequently–which Ronald Weinland does (and that of itself is not criminal nor should it be discouraged)."

Let's review: I stated that a criminal investigation should not be confused with a more common taxpayer audit. Bob then promptly confused a criminal investigation with a more common taxpayer audit. The IRS does not conduct audits of a taxpayer at the same time as a criminal investigation. Per IRS policy, with a ongoing criminal investigation there is no ongoing IRS audit of Ronald Weinland. (IRM 1.2.13.1.11(7)) In my August 1 post I quoted statistics: "In 2007 the IRS Criminal Investigation Division started only 4211 investigations". With only 4211 investigations the IRS simply can't go after everyone who travels internationally, even those who travel many times each year as Weinland does.

Personally, I think that Ron's travels (3 trips to Europe, 2 trips to Australia, and 2 trips to Jerusalem with a side trip to Egypt in 2008) while technically not illegal should be discouraged, as they're financed on the backs of his tithe-and-offering slaves.
IRS criminal tax summons for Weinland
Bob finished his post with the following "But even if he has no real problem with the I.R.S. (and presuming he will be cleared, he would not) ...." As a criminal target Weinland enjoys a presumption of innocence should he go to trial, but he does not enjoy a presumption of being cleared. Personally, I'm not going to presume that Weinland will be cleared. First of all, one of the statistics I quoted in my article (which Bob could have read if he'd so chosen) was that 2155 were convicted as compared to 4211 investigations started. Based on those statistics, Weinland has over a 50% chance of being convicted. Second, the IRS does not investigate to clear someone. IRS CI will stop an investigation if they feel they can't develop enough evidence to obtain a criminal conviction -- and the IRS has a substantial burden of proof in a criminal trial. But the IRS will not publish even the fact that they've terminated an investigation unless the subject of the investigation requests and authorizes it in writing. While there's slightly less than an even chance that Weinland will not be convicted, there's only a very, very slim chance that Ronnie will be "cleared".

I get the feeling that Bob thinks that someone who served as one of Herbie's "Misters" could not possibly be a criminal (despite being a false prophet). Bob put a question mark on the title of his post (IRS Criminal Investigation of Ronald Weinland?) implying he was skeptical that there was a criminal investigation at all, despite access to court documents clearing proving that there was one. A few months later when it was suggested that another Armstrongite False Prophet (Gerald Flurry) was being investigated by the FBI, Bob took great exception. This even though Weinland and Flurry compete with Bob's own favorite false prophet, Rod Meredith. And even though Ron has called for Rod's death.

I've asked Doctor Bob on more than one occasion to provide his sources that the "IRS criminal arm" (IRS CI division) targets international travelers for criminal investigations so I could read them for myself. So far they hasn't been produced -- just vague references to some newsletter he might have read. I rather doubt that any such evidence exists, at least not from any reputable source. I expect that Doctor Bob's thielogical positions are as equally well researched as his position on IRS criminal investigations.

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that international travelers are more likely to be targeted for criminal investigations. But that does not prove a cause-effect relationship, that is it does not prove that the IRS targeted them because they travel internationally. International travelers would tend to have more income, meaning they'd have more income tax to evade, meaning they would be of greater interest to the IRS. While not everyone who has a Swiss bank account is a tax cheat, tax cheats are more likely to have Swiss bank accounts to which they'd travel to hide their assets. The IRS is not going to target someone simply for traveling overseas. They're not going to waste their limited resources unless they feel they have a good chance of being able to meet their burden of proof in a criminal trial. As a reminder, the mere existence of the criminal tax investigation does not in and of itself prove that Weinland has broken the law.

There are a lot of misconceptions about what IRS criminal investigations are, not just on the part of Doctor Bob. I have done some actual research on the topic (not just reading some random newsletter) and plan a post in the future to share what I've learned. I imagine that Doctor Bob will have a response to my post as well. That is unless Weinland's long-delayed curse of quick death from the inside stops me and/or Doctor Bob who has also made himself subject to the death curse with his own criticisms of this false prophet.

23 comments:

your nickname said...

I just took a look at Weinland's upcoming world travel schedule and think - he is spending more money on his own personal life and luxury travel (Europe and Hawaii!) than he is on preaching the gospel. That's right. The tithe money is going to support HIM, not his prophecies. If he were a true servant of God, he wouldn't be spending most of his limited resources traveling like he does. It's that simple.

Whisper said...

Ah... but in his thinking he is using the Tithe money provided by God (not the faceless sheeples) to do Gods work in leading and teaching the sheeples. It's not about the sheeples to Ron, it's about RON! Even Laura is but an extension of RON's ego.
If memory serves when Ron was telling the Sheeples in late 2007 to "throw down thier pitchers" and send the wads of cash to Ron, Ron took the time right after this dear message to take a luxury cruise in the Med.
Nice...

What Pitcher did Ron throw down? Well its Ron's job to teach the sheeples, it's the sheeples job to support Ron so Ron can teach the sheeples. It's a circular kind of thing where the Sheeples get poor'r (sheeples don't need money) and Ron gets Richer (and puts the money in Switzerland for private Witness use).

:-(

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

Whisper, you remember correctly. See my previous posts "Ron's Total Resolve" and "Ron's Total Resolve Part 2". Including pictures of what the money paid for.

Whisper said...

Mike

Your "Ton's Total Resolve" parts 1 & 2 where rather stomach turning... From a technical standpoint they are rather brazen by ol Ron. With all that he has stated (and his more vocal Sheeples on your very own blog) I come to the conclusion, so far, that ol Ron has 2 aggendas on his plate. First is Ego be being, by his word, Gods final prophet & a "spokesman" witness. This gives Ron an Ego burst & command of his own church, command of eldars, command of people, etc... Second is his living the good life and spending money that is not his, a shyster if you will, a con man. One is Egotistical and proud & strong! The other is coniving and greedy for worldy goods while they (Ron & Laura) while away the time awaiting thier deaths in the big J city and final resurection to stand at the Christ side in the air.
One is a public face and the other is a private one. Both are ugly masks.

Just goes to show you how humanity can delude itself, both leader and sheeple.

Sad... :-(

jack635 said...

This whole swiss bank account thing has me perplexed. If he is a prophet of God, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, what does he need a pile of money sitting in Switzerland for?

your nickname said...

"This whole swiss bank account thing has me perplexed. If he is a prophet of God, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, what does he need a pile of money sitting in Switzerland for?"

That's a great question and one that you would think someone in his church would be asking him. Apparently he's going to need it for survival while the United States is pummeled with nukes and his flock are all dead or dying from radiation poisoning. Of course, he should be aware that having Euros will not guarantee him a hot meal since he would have to have the mark of the beast to buy and sell. He didn't think about that little point, now did he?!

jack635 said...

LOL!!!!!!!
Good point.

Unknown said...

Hi Mike,
A couple questions:

Has the 'Silent Witness' (Laura Weinland) made ANY known vocal comments whatsoever since the annoucement of Ron that he and his wife Laura are the two end time witnesses of Revelation?
Why may it be, she playing such a muted witness given her apparent role as 2nd in charge to top dog Ron?

Straight Angles

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

During sermons, you can hear Laura cackling at Ron's lame jokes. Or setting him straight when he loses his place.

I also understand that she passes along her unique spiritual insight to PKG members one-on-one.

Why is Laura the other witness? This is a mom and pop family business, and he's keeping it in the family.

Paul and Rina Klooster, The Netherlands said...

Hello! I'm so glad finding you're blog on the internet, along with other material about this false prophet! If my wife and i would'nt have found this, we would have been followers of that tithen collecting cult! Thanks for that moment of searching the net!!!!!!!

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

Paul, thanks for checking in. Above all, thanks for taking the time to investigate this false prophet before deciding to follow him.

Keep questioning!!!

Paul and Rina Klooster, The Netherlands said...

Mike, thnx for your quick answer! We've been reading the 2 Ronnie Books and thought: that's the man! But something in one of his sermons on the net (we really listened to that crap!)did rang a bell: tithen! We began to search the net and found a picture of his house. Would someone living in such a place, really walking this world in sackcloath? Uuuuhmmm.....

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

I wish more of those who were thinking about following Ron would consider the contradictions you pointed out. While we're at it, that goes for his current followers too.

Weinland's Hovel of Humility.
No Humility Back Here Either.
Ron's Total Resolve Part 2.

Paul and Rina Klooster, The Netherlands said...

One last thing about Ronnie's income: Matthew 10:8 tells everyone (also Ronnie's $laves)"Heal the sick, cleanse the leppers, raise the dead, cast out devils; FREELY YE HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY YE GIVE". Rina and i are reading allmost anything availlable on the net AGAINST Ronnieboy and Herbiellyah (or LIAR) and we feel: waaaw, what a relieve!

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

Hi Paul: If you don't mind sharing a little bit, a couple of questions:

How long ago did you hear about Weinland?

Also, how did you hear about him? Was it via a Google ad? If it was a sponsored link from a Google search, do you remember the search term you used?

Thanks

Paul and Rina Klooster, The Netherlands said...

Hi Mike! No problem! Not at all!
We heard about this man about the end of January, beginning of February, this year.
We typed the word: Sabbath. Doing so, one has a lot of reading to do!! Weinland's site got our attention, because of his 2 books, forsyaing the end of the world. And we actually ordered them and read them. To be honest, that was the first time we had our thoughts about some things. I mean, when I read about a second timeline, I begin asking myself: where's the first one? What happened?
And that was when we began searching the net, finding you and the other blogs and anti-Weinland sites. But we where still convinced, that he was right! And we actually made plans to go to Belgium in May.....
That also made us think: it doesn't feel right: he travels to Belgium and Holland; so why can't I find anything about a place where we could go to listen to a serman or whatever? I even could'nt find anything about Willem Henderson, his "tithe-bankmanager" in Holland. This all, and the information on your blog made me e-mail you. We're so happy finding you! Thumbs up! Great work! We were actually thinking of joining.....right now, it makes us shiver! You opened our eyes.

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

Hi Paul:

There is a Willem Henderson, as I've heard him give the prayers when Ron visits there. It is possible that I've miss-spelled his name, as I've only heard it.

As far as the church, I would be surprised if there are more than 2 dozen in all of the Benelux countries that meet. When Ron shows up there may be a few extra who visit from the UK and travel with Ron from the US.

But you would not be allowed to meet with them until you've passed their screening process. Part of that would be verifying that you have been paying tithes.

Paul and Rina Klooster, The Netherlands said...

Hi Mike:

You spelled it right: Willem Henderson.
No Dutch internetsite, no adresses, nothing!
So one has to tell them a few things THEY WANNA HEAR and pay entrance (tithe) before God is willing to teach? HAHA! That's not a church, that's a fortress!
We are going to search the internet and so for this man, if we read or find something, we're going to mail you. Maybe he can't be stopped, but we can help you to warn people, just as you warned us.
The few dozen followers in Benelux for example: so they only have Ron's site, Herbie's online Searchable Library, the Sabbath sermon on internet, but the most important thing a number of a bankaccount for their tithes? If they search the net, they can find you, As Bereans Did and so on. There's a lot of info for them; are they annoying that because they're told to do so? They're even indoctrinated not to read their Bibles; that would be nonscence, because it would'nt be of God (a topic on As Bereans Did). The guy puts himself next to God. What kind of snakepit is that? It's not a prophet, definitly not at all!!!
If we hear or find something, we mail it! If in Dutch, we translate it.
Oh and by the way: in February during our internetsearch we came on Ronnie's site, because it was one of the few with a Dutch translation.

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

Willem Henderson and Weinland's other elders are mainly flunkies. None of them give sermons. Their jobs are to
(1) refer any questions to the FAQs on the church website
(2) deliver an occasional opening or closing prayer when Ron visits
(3) help with the screening of new members and baptize the ones who pass
(4) arrange meeting spaces for when Ron visits. In between visits, meetings are probably held in their living rooms.

I would guess that Willem also does the translations to Dutch. Or maybe Gijs Van Lerberghe in Belgium does that (is Dutch spoken in Belgium?)

Paul, The Netherlands said...

Hi Mike!

Yes, Dutch is spoken in some parts of Belgium; the other parts speak French.

When you press the CONTACT button on Ronnie's own site, you receive an pre-organized mail in return; telling you to:
1 frequently visit both the internetsites
http://www.cog-pkg.org/nederlands/
http://www.ronaldweinland.com/
2 read the FAQ's on those sites
3 keep your Sabbath
4 listen to the sermons on net or radio
One gets no more info then this email.
(Nederlands means Dutch language)

I looked in my email, but unfortunately i've not kept it.

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

Paul:
Your report of the auto-response email from ronaldweinland.com is consistent with what I've heard. I haven't tried it myself. That's also what the BBC reports.

They don't have an auto-responder set up for the email address on the church website. There are people who actually read it, but who will quickly hit the Delete button if they don't like what you said. Probably what happened when I sent this email to them.

Paul Klooster, The Netherlands said...

Hi Mike!

My wife did some Googlin' this morning. She typed in:
trumpets, Trumpets.....no ads.
But when she entered: tribulation, Tribulation, there popped up a sponsored link, in Dutch: (Translated)
The Antichrist Revealed.
What's the consquence for Gods Church.
the-end.com

Mike (Don't Drink the Flavor Aid) said...

Alexa has traffic history for the-end.com. The vast majority of this traffic is due to Internet advertising.

Weinland reduced his advertising budget at the end of January, so sponsored links from Google searches occur somewhat randomly, and might not occur at all during certain parts of the day.