Mormon critics challenge church’s tax-exempt status
HONOLULU — Mormon critics are asking the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to investigate allegations that the church uses a Hawaii cultural center to commit tax fraud.
Gay-rights activist and Mormon critic Fred Karger delivered a complaint to a Honolulu IRS office Thursday asking for an investigation into possible tax abuses involving the Polynesian Cultural Center, Brigham Young University-Hawaii and a Hawaii land management company.
The complaint comes after Mormon critics aired television ads last year seeking information that could harm the church’s tax-exempt status.
A church spokesman declined to comment. An IRS spokeswoman says the agency doesn’t comment on taxpayer cases and doesn’t confirm whether there’s an investigation.
Karger says it’s unlikely the tax-exempt status will be revoked, but he hopes the attention forces changes. He’s also seeking investigations from other government agencies.
The Utah-based church has 16 million members worldwide, including 74,000 in Hawaii.
Hawaii accountant sentenced for stealing $7M from nonprofit
HONOLULU — A former accountant convicted of stealing nearly $7 million from an Oahu nonprofit organization was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Lola Jean Amorin was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest in June to 18 criminal charges, including first-degree theft, computer fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
Amorin had worked as the bookkeeper for about 30 years for The Arc in Hawaii, which serves children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She was arrested last year.
“I would like to apologize to The Arc, my family and friends,” she told court Wednesday. “I am truly sorry and accept responsibility.”
Amorin stole the money from about January 1998 to January 2017, funding the purchase of multiple homes, cars, home renovations and lavish vacations, according to court documents. She forged more than 600 checks during this time, Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said.
“She’s sorry she got caught. She’s sorry about the impact it may have on family members, but she lived a life of luxury for 20 years,” the prosecutor said.
Amorin was also ordered to pay $6.96 million in restitution and $337,554 in unpaid taxes to the state Department of Taxation.
“The scope and the extent of the criminal activity in this case is just staggering,” Circuit Judge Glenn Kim said in court.
Albert Amorin, her husband, was sentenced to probation for failing to report the stolen money as income on joint tax returns. He pleaded no contest to tax evasion charges regarding about $3 million that his wife had stolen.