One could argue that the
current tumult at Trinity Broadcasting Network came to light in the
wake of one Horst Brandt.
Brandt, a man of German descent who oversaw the TV
ministry’s computer systems, filed
a lawsuit one year ago against Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, Paul
Crouch Jr., and his daughter, Brittany Koper, who was then head
of human resources.
In addition to hiring Brandt as an independent contractor
rather than a regular employee (which is cheaper for TBN), and in addition to
slurs referencing Brandt’s national origin (“Horst runs his department like
Nazi Germany during World War II”), the suit maintains that Trinity fired
Brandt because he was getting long in the tooth.
“During the last year of Brandt’s employment, CEO Paul
Crouch Jr. and HR Director Brittany Koper, made repeated discriminatory remarks
about older workers,” Brandt’s complaint says. “For example, in the meeting at
which he informed Brandt that he would be fired, Crouch Jr. commented that Paul
Crouch, Sr. and Ruth Brown were ‘getting up there in age too’….
“Crouch Jr. also stated to a vendor (after firing Brandt)
that ‘there are some older people here and it is time for a change.” Crouch JR.
told another vendor that Chief Financial Officer Ruth Brown, ‘is getting up
there in age and should find something else to do.’
Ruth Brown is the sister of the network’s founder, Paul
Crouch Sr.
In
its answer, Trinity denies the allegations. And in a cross-complaint
against Brandt, it accuses him of breach of contract, fraud and
misappropriation of trade secrets.
MORE BOMBSHELLS
Koper — the granddaughter who has accused
the world’s largest Christian broadcaster of playing fast and loose with the
ministry’s millions and then provided internal
documents to back up her claims – drops a bomb or two here as well.
Jan Crouch, Brittany and Michael Koper, Paul Crouch
Her grandfather and others referred to Brandt as “an old
dinosaur,” Koper said in court papers. The building where Brandt worked was
regularly referred to as “the old folks home” by her grandparents, Jan and Paul
Crouch, attorney John Casoria and other senior management, and “These
individuals in particular were extremely concerned that the average age of
TBN’s workers was over 50 years,” Koper said.
(The irony, if there is one, is that Paul and Jan Crouch
aren’t exactly spring chickens themselves.)
The problem with an over-50 work force, of course, is
that older workers earn more money and their medical insurance grows ever more
costly.
“In my capacity as Human Resources Director, I was told
by senior management to ‘find ways’ to ‘make these individuals retire’ or be
‘less of an expensive drain’ on TBN,” Koper’s filing says. “I spent a
considerable amount of effort researching these questions before proposing a
retirement incentive program.”
That was rejected, however, and Koper said she was told
to implement other “alternative reforms.” She was instructed by her
grandfather, Crouch Sr., to run an updated age report on the workers, and ”I
was then told to fire everyone over 65 years of age, because they were too old,
too sick, and too lazy. The plan was stopped before it was fully implemented,
when it was explained to Dr. Crouch that the monetary impact of the inevitable
age discrimination lawsuits would exceed the costs of maintaining the insurance
plans for these elderly employees.”
The efforts continued, Koper said: Her grandfather,
Crouch Sr., was “particularly adamant and excited” about switching workers
older than 65 to part-time status, but then compromised on an “over 80″ plan,
moving octogenarians to part-time status.
STEALING TRADE SECRETS?
As we said, Trinity denies that there was discrimination
on the basis of age or national origin.
And in its cross-complaint against Brandt, Trinity says
that he “improperly accessed ” its main computer and network and the
proprietary information contained in them, and made numerous unauthorized
copies.
“The proprietary information on (Trinity)’s main computer
and network, including, but not limited to, databases, lists, and electronic
documents and programs and the design/schema of thereof, contain information
that is not known to the general public or to other persons who can obtain
value from their disclosure or use,” it says. “(Trinity) has maintained the
secrecy of this information, which derives economic value from not being
generally known.”
That, it said, constitutes trade secrets.
Each party seeks redress from the other, and they are
currently battling in court on this, and many other, fronts.
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH TBN’S FINANCES?
Koper, far left, and the Trinity Broadcasting family
It’s a bit labyrinthine, but stay with us:
Koper, the granddaughter, was human resources director
when Brandt brought his suit. She was soon promoted to finance director, and
Trinity’s lawyers, Davert & Loe, were supposed to be representing
her.
By her account, Koper proceeded to
tick off her relatives by objecting to how they were spending ministry money.
She was fired by TBN in September, after granting company loans to family
members; was sued
by the lawyers that who supposed to be representing her in the Brandt case for
alleged financial improprieties; and then
made public her accusations about how Trinity spends its money.
The swirl of suits and counter-suits lets outsiders see
deeper inside Trinity — which bills itself as the world’s largest Christian
network — than we have ever been able to see before.
The picture isn’t particularly pretty.
If you’d like to read source documents on the Brandt
case, have a look at these:
- Brandt
original complaint
- Brandt
amended complaint
- Brandt
Trinity cross-complaint
- Brandt
Trinity answer to amended complaint
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