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Ministry of disgraced Christian evangelical figure can be sued for donation refunds, court says
By Mark A. Kellner
The Washington Times
May 19, 2022
The organization founded by disgraced evangelical Christian minister Ravi Zacharias can be sued by donors seeking a refund of their contributions, a federal district judge in Georgia has ruled.
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Inc., will confront charges they secured donations "by fraud or deceit" because the ministry did not disclose that gifts were used to allegedly pay off women who said Mr. Zacharias had sexually abused them. The Indian-born Canadian-American minister died in 2020.
Margaret Zacharias, his widow, was dismissed as a defendant in the action, according to the order signed last week by senior Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Mr. Zacharias's spirited defense of evangelical Christianity drew lecture audiences around the world, spawned numerous best-selling books, and launched a ministry organization that raised $25 million in 2015 -- the last year the nonprofit filed information with the IRS.
Shortly before his death, several women who worked in Atlanta-area massage parlors co-owned by Mr. Zacharias came forward to report he'd sexually abused them. Another woman, Lori Thompson, earlier claimed Mr. Zacharias "groomed" her for online sexual activity. Mr. Zacharias initially sued Ms. Thompson and her husband, but later paid the couple a $250,000 settlement that included a non-disclosure agreement, Religion News Service reported.
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