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Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology are reportedly under federal investigation for human trafficking and using unpaid labor, according to the New Yorker (via Huffington Post). The charges surfaced in a profile of Oscar-winning writer-director Paul Haggis ('Crash'), who left Scientology in 2009 after 34 years following a disagreement with church officials.
For the New Yorker profile, entitled 'Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology,' writer Lawrence Wright spoke to the filmmaker, several former church members and two FBI investigators, who allegedly "assured me [Wright] that the case remains open," referring to a 2009 investigation into abuse claims against the church. Reports indicate the abuse charges relate to, in part, paying church members just $50 per week to meet Cruise's demands, which included customizing a building and repairing boats and motorcycles.
In a statement, the church and Cruise denied the allegations and any knowledge of the investigation, and said the New Yorker "irresponsibly" used "discredited" sources to write a misleading article in an effort to attract attention.
Is that why I've seen these Scientology TV commercials popping-up lately?
Have you really? That is bizarre. What part of the country are you in, jckryan?
Is that why I've seen these Scientology TV commercials popping-up lately?
Have you really? That is bizarre. What part of the country are you in, jckryan?
Los Angeles, California in the U.S. of A. They've been airing usually in the 7am-8am time slot . . . when NBC's Today Show airs. Nothing about the thread you posted. They go on about marriage, family, happiness, etc.. was'nt really paying attention (usually running about getting ready for work).
Who influenced Tom Cruise to join the scientology?
~BH
Luis and Maria Garcia of Irvine, California, filed the complaint in federal court in Tampa, Florida, near the churchs national headquarters in Clearwater. The couple claims they were duped into giving more than US$420,000 for a building campaign, disaster relief efforts and other causes, only to find the bulk of the money went to inflate the church coffers and line the pockets of its leader, David Miscavige. Scientology spokeswoman Pat Harney said the church had not yet been served with the lawsuit, but challenged any contention that money was misappropriated. The Garcias were 28-year members of the church, rising to upper levels of Scientology. They left in November 2010 over their disenchantment with its direction under Miscavige, who has led the church since founder L. Ron Hubbards death in 1986.
The lawsuit names various trusts and nonprofits linked to Scientology as defendants and says they collectively engage in fraud. Attorney Theodore Babbitt of West Palm Beach, Florida, who is among those handling the suit, said it would be followed by other similar claims from former Scientologists. He said the Garcias still believe in the precepts of Scientology and that the litigation is not a commentary on whether it is a true religion, a question that has dogged it across the world since it was founded in the 1950s. Among the accusations made in the lawsuit is that the Garcias and others were repeatedly approached with urgent requests for funding of Scientology charity work around the globe.
Babbitt said high-ranking former Scientologists would testify that the church knowingly rerouted such collections for other spending, including financing a lavish lifestyle for Miscavige, stifling inquiries into church activities and finances, and intimidating members and ex-members. A common tactic, Babbitt said, when a disaster unfolded somewhere in the world, would be to send a small group of Scientologists with a camera crew that would pay locals in the affected area to appear on camera. A scene would essentially be staged in which people would be begging or appear to be starving, even if it were not the case, he said. A cornerstone of church practice is personal counseling sessions, known as auditing, in which members disclose many facets of their personal lives.
Babbitt says members financial statuses would be known from those sessions and then be used in tandem with footage from disaster sites in desperate and urgent pleas for money. Theres an emergency, we need your money right now, we know that you have X dollars in the bank in Los Angeles, Babbitt said. Those contributions, the lawsuit says, were collected by a Scientology-linked group called IAS Administrations, which Babbitt says former church members will testify accumulated more than US$1 billion in contributions.
US couple sues Church of Scientology over donations - Taipei Times
Scientology is a load of crap. It was invented by some washed up science fiction writer who figured out a way to dupe people into giving him money.
And yeah.........................I hope the idiot Scientologists track me down so I can tell them what a load of crap their belief system is.
Why are you all resurrecting these old threads?
