Rivenbark/Maurice
Palm Beach Post staff writer Jane Musgrave just released a story stating that Luis and Rocio Garcia’s attorney Ted Babbitt has asked Federal judge James Whittemore to declare the Church of Scientology’s arbitration process to be a fraud upon the court. This move on the part of the Garcia’s is electrifying as it goes to the very core of Scientology’s notorious bad faith financial dealings with its own parishioners and former parishioners. Musgrave writes in her article:
In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa, attorney Theodore Babbitt contends the church made no pretense of conducting a fair and impartial hearing on his clients’ claims that it defrauded them out of $465,000 before they became disillusioned with its tactics. He is asking U.S. District Judge James Whittemore to reverse his decision to allow the Garcias’ lawsuit to be decided by Scientologists in arbitration and instead order that it be decided in a court of law.
“The arbitration was a mockery that no judge should countenance,” Babbitt wrote.
While he suspected the arbitration – the first ever conducted by the church – would be tantamount to “a kangaroo court,” the reality was far worse, he said.
The Garcia’s challenge to Scientology’s first-ever arbitration will be widely watched by former members who have been defrauded by the Church of Scientology — and particularly for advanced payments on services that were never delievered.
Update: Please see Tony Ortega’s article on the Garcia case.
We at the Scientology Money Project consider Scientology’s predatory practice of taking money in advance — and then refusing to refund that money when a person decides to no longer practice Scientology — crosses the line from civil fraud into conspiracy and criminal racketeering. It is our hope that Scientology’s top executives and lawyers will one day be charged in a RICO action. We consider that these people are criminals hiding behind religion. By L. Ron Hubbard’s own definition a criminal is someone who wants something for nothing:
First consider a group which takes in money but does not deliver anything in exchange. This is called rip-off. It is the “exchange” condition of robbers, tax men, governments and other criminal elements. — L. Ron Hubbard – HCO PL 10 Sep 82
The Church of Scientology is criminal in this practice per the definition of its own Founder.
One the four contracts all Scientologists must sign is called the “Religious Services Enrollment Application, Agreement, and General Release.” In this contract, one gives up the legal right to sue the Church of Scientology or to have a lawyer represent them in any dispute with Scientology. One also surrenders the right to a refund of any donations they have made to the organization. (For more details see our article DOX: How Scientology ensnares the unsuspecting in a series of binding contracts). Excerpt:
Here is the dirty Scientology contract at the heart of the dispute; hover your mouse over the document to invoke the controls that will appear at the bottom of the document:
The new Garcia legal filings:
Categories: The Scientology Money Project
Scientology IS fraud, a multinational conspiracy using covert hypnotic schemes to steal a persons wallet while giving them nothing in return, except the hypnotic suggestion that they are free…The only freedom scientologists get is the freedom to attack anyone whose words or actions interfere with the continued extraction of money from rubes,. and not be disciplined by scientology.
British Parliament, 1968:
Mr. St. John-Stevas:
Since the right Hon. Gentleman has reflected on the subject and is noted for his academic brilliance, would he say in one brief, concise sentence, exactly what Scientology is?
Mr. Crossman:
Yes, I think I could: it is a fraud.
The Church of Scientology didn’t even bother making a pretense that this was an arbitration in any legal meaning of arbitration. Mike Ellis and the Scientology arbitrators showed the entire arbitration procedure from beginning to end was part of a continuing pattern of Scientology fraud:
1. The CVB form must be correctly completed, except:
2. It doesn’t matter if the CVB form is correctly completed, incorrectly completed, or not completed at all as the CVB form becomes null and void in the case of Scientologists being declared SP’s. The CVB becomes an irrelevant farce in this case.
3. Therefore, the CVB is inherently fraudulent as its real goal is the prevention of refunds and repayments and not justice. The implicit bad faith in the CVB is to drive any Scientologist asking for a refund or a repayment into a condition in which they:
3A. Capitulate and legally abandon their refund or repayment request, or,
3B. Are declared an SP and therefore the CVB becomes null and void.
Note: In the few cases where a refund or a repayment has been obtained from CSI, the person receiving their money back is declared an SP as a condition of receiving a refund or a repayment.
4. The inherent design of the Church of Scientology is to destroy any Scientologist who asks for their money back. Over against this, the Church of Scientology is also inherently designed to extract as much money as possible from Scientologists as frequently as possible. As a wealth extraction system, then, the very notion of asking for one’s unused money back is heretical. Thus we see that systematic wealth extraction is the ultimate purpose of the Church of Scientology. Increasing one’s IAS status is more important than going up one’s Bridge. In fact, one must increase one’s IAS status in order to be invited onto the upper levels. This shows the bad faith wealth extraction scheme at the core of the Church of Scientology.
5. The Scientology wealth extraction scheme is designed to be irreversible; money must flow into Scientology and all possible barriers must be erected to prevent money from ever leaving the Church. Where a refund or a repayment is requested, Scientology becomes scheming and duplicitous and its fraudulent operating basis can clearly be seen. IJC Mike Ellis’ conduct in the arbitration was criminal in nature. Ellis clearly had no intent of actually practicing a Scientology Justice procedure as described and elucidated by L. Ron Hubbard. That the IJC is a thoroughly corrupt Church official makes Scientology Justice a complete mockery and a sham. This is not a surprise to anyone who understands the fraudulent nature of Scientology. By L. Ron Hubbard’s own definition a criminal is someone who wants something for nothing:
5A. IJC Mike Ellis failed to consider that CSI acted in a way in which it wanted something for nothing, i.e. the Garcia’s money, and did not deliver any exchange in return. CSI acted criminally in keeping the Garcia’s unused monies and IJC Ellis aided and abetted this criminality. This is why we must conclude that Ellis is himself a criminal per LRH’s own definition of a criminal. Indeed, according to LRH’s own definition, the IJC and the arbitrator went criminal in this procedure.
6. The Scientology arbitration panel will not hear “entheta” where “entheta” concerns substantive matters of facts and evidence that gave rise to the arbitration procedure in the first place. LRH himself wrote that Truth was an exact description of “time, place, and form of event.” Given LRH’s own definition, the Scientology arbitration panel refused to hear the truth of the matter and instead dismissed time, place, and form of event as entheta. This demonstrates premeditated fraud and shows malice aforethought to deny the Garcia’s an honest arbitration procedure.
7. FSO, FSSO, and CCI have generally, but not always, refunded monies put on account for accommodations. This shows that CSI is cognizant of the fact that these Orgs are operating as commercial businesses, i.e. hotels. The Scientology arbitration panel refunded the commercial portion of the monies at issue but chose to keep the ecclesiastical portion based upon the deeply bogus nature of the CVB contract. IMO, this was a legally dangerous position for the Scientology arbitration panel to take as it forms an explicit acknowledgement that there is a commercial component to Scientology as pertains to its for-profit hotel operations. This can be taken up with the IRS and the courts.
8. That non-Scientology lawyer Gary Soter was nearby in hiding argues that the IJC was not fully competent to lead the arbitration but rather needed to rely upon the presence of a non-Scientology lawyer should the IJC require legal guidance during the procedure. Soter was present “just in case” Ellis needed a non-Scientology lawyer to advise him on Scientology Justice matters. This is an admission that senior Scientology management had no real confidence in IJC Mike Ellis.
Fraud was the basis of the arbitration, but in a Scientology Kangaroo Court, the facts will not be heard if they are deemed entheta. If all facts are entheta, then the Church of Scientology might as well commit credit card fraud, as it has done in the past, and call any charges of fraud entheta. In fact, the Church of Scientology might as well murder troublesome parishioners and then argue to the wog courts that these executions were ecclesiastical in nature and the government has no right to intervene. Any internal arbitration on the executions would dismiss the facts as entheta. Scientology’s argument about facts as “entheta” collapses into both absurdity and fraud.