Los Angeles California.- The Joaquín, the family that has been leading the La Luz del Mundo church for over 90 years, has at least 10 properties in the United States, including a ranch in Texas valued at 4.1 million dollars It has a zoo and an artificial lake. The California Prosecutor’s Office says that until the arrest of the congregation’s leader, Naasón Joaquín García, he had an eccentric lifestyle: He traveled by private jet and spent full hands in Beverly Hills stores.
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The origin of that fortune is part of a heated debate, depending on who says it. According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in a federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of an alleged victim of the pastor, that wealth comes from tithing, donations and gifts that the faithful give in the temples without knowing who, or how they will spend that money.
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It is not a new plea; However, the complaint mentions an alleged scheme used by people close to the Joaquín to bring large sums of money to the church headquarters in Guadalajara, evading tax scrutiny at US and Mexican airports. The authorities of both countries allow traveling with less than $ 10,000 in cash without reporting them to customs.
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“The cash collected in the United States that is sent to Mexico to be stored at the Guadalajara headquarters It washes across the border. Naasón and others recruit members of La Luz del Mundo to make regular trips to Guadalajara with cash hidden in their bodies and in their luggage ”, notes the claim filed on behalf of Sochil Martin, alleged victim of the pastor.
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This 33-year-old Californian uncovered the sexual scandal of the evangelical congregation in the US and is now the main witness of the California Prosecutor’s Office. According to her complaint, she also had to “smuggle” money to Mexico during trips she made for the church’s informational body, “Berea International.”
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“Mrs. Martin would have received envelopes with up to 5,000 dollars at a time and you were required to hide the money in your person or in the bag of your clothes to smuggle it to Guadalajara. This cash was the same cash donated by the members of La Luz del Mundo, ”says the 65-page complaint.
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Sources close to the investigation, which also focuses on the finances of this evangelical institution, told Univision Noticias that Naasón Joaquín I used to travel with an entourage not only to help you, but to transport each one less than $ 10,000 to your office and home in Guadalajara.
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Sochil Martin was until a few years ago personal assistant to the international director of the cult and claims to be aware of the money movement that, according to her, always had the same destiny: the coffers of the Joaquín in Mexico. This woman claims that the leader “Save and spend the funds as you wish.”
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He also points out that for years the church treasurers have used alms to open bank accounts and buy property on behalf of the pastor. Thus they raise a millionaire figure every so often.
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The collection in the temples is fierce, says the civil process presented this Wednesday in an angel court. Each faithful delivery “Thousands of dollars a year” through a tithe which is “at least” 10% of their income, a “special weekly offering” that goes to Naasón Joaquín and another contribution for the maintenance of the temple to which he goes.
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Those who do not open the wallet are displayed using a list that is placed in a visible place of the temples. This serves for the faithful to compete with each other “To show his love for the‘ Apostle ’with increasingly large donations and embarrass members who don’t make substantial donations, ”he alleges.
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“Mrs. Martin learned during her time among the elite that the money given to The Light of the World for any purpose He almost always goes directly to the ‘Apostle’ and his family, which then distributes part of the Council of Bishops, ”who are high-ranking ministers, says the lawsuit.
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The ‘Apostle’ is not rich, says the church
Martin’s lawsuit accuses the institution and its leaders of organized crime, human trafficking, forced labor, sexual assault and other crimes. Eliezer Gutierrez, a church spokesman, told Univision News that he could not comment on the complaint until he analyzed the details of it.
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“If this were the case, once we know the nature and content of it, we would be able to evaluate the meaning of our actions,” Gutierrez said.
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The congregation denies that its international director is a millionaire, traveling by private jet or have a luxurious mansion inside the Hermosa Provincia neighborhood, the headquarters of the church in Guadalajara.
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Gutierrez told Univision News last summer that the church’s finances and those of the ‘Apostle’ are separate. He also stressed that “nobody is obliged to contribute an amount” to temples, which are responsible for managing their own economic resources.
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The church has not disclosed the salary of its leader or the income from tithes or gifts received by the evangelical institution.
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At a hearing in the Los Angeles court that took place last July 15, the then defense lawyer of Naasón Joaquín, Allen Sawyer, said that the “Servant of God” He has no wealth and he makes a living with the salary that the cult gives him. “He is a salaried employee,” said the lawyer in court. “He has no direct authority to order the movement of money at all.”
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But the possessions that Univision News found in the US contradict those claims. The Joaquín have At least 10 properties in this country valued at 7.3 million dollars. The church leader has six houses in California, Texas and Florida. His older brother Benjamin owns the Texas ranch and an ocean view residence in Palos Verdes Estates, a high-class suburb of southern California. While his sisters Rahel and Bathsheba have a home in East Los Angeles.
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This media verified that some of Naasón Joaquín’s properties in eastern Los Angeles were occupied. The lawsuit filed Wednesday affirms that the rent to parishioners “To get even more income for him and his family.”
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A former high-ranking minister told this media that he knew firsthand the wealth that this family possesses. “Everyone is rich. Samuel Joaquín (Naasón’s father) amassed a fortune in property, bank accounts, business and when he died he inherited them ”, assured. “Children, grandchildren, nephews, brothers are involved in the church. It is a family business clearly, ”he added.
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$ 150,000 dinners and luxury cars
The California Prosecutor’s Office has already aired the eccentric life of Naasón Joaquín in some hearings. Researchers testified that they found on their iPhone conversations in which this referred to safe deposit boxes where he kept euros, gold and sums “of more than 10,000 dollars”.
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When reviewing what the evangelical leader looked for on the internet with his cell phone, they found even more luxuries. “There was a history of searching for extremely luxurious and high-end items that I would consider unattainable for most people: yachts, private jets, extremely luxurious watches, simply very luxurious items “, State agent Steven Stover described in court on July 15.
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A few weeks after the arrest of the ‘Apostle of Jesus Christ’, state prosecutor Amanda Plisner said he arrived by private jet to Los Angeles, who found $ 200,000 in cash and gold at his residence in Los Angeles and that in a single day He spent $ 100,000 on purchases in Beverly Hills.
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At a press conference on Thursday, the alleged victim Sochil Martin denounced that the congregation squeezes the pockets of its members to the fullest. “Every dollar they earn goes to The Light of the World because they really believe that their money will be used for the good of God on Earth. But all the money they earn with sacrifices is to enrich Naason, ”he denounced.
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Martin’s civil lawsuit indicates that much of the alms collected finance “An extraordinarily luxurious lifestyle”, which includes spending more than 150,000 dollars in extravagant dinners. “I bought any amount of luxury items for personal use, including custom designer clothes, luxury cars, Victorian furniture and expensive art,” he says.
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In addition, he mentions that he uses the tithes of his parishioners “to pay for their luxurious homes and residences for their children, and to send their children to expensive universities.” One of his sons, Adoraim Joaquín Zamora, acquired a mansion in Malibu, a wealthy coastal community in Los Angeles, California.
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Donations collected in temples were also used to buy two ranches, the ‘Silver Wolf’, Texas, (valued at 4.1 million dollars) and ‘Ebenezer’ in Redlands, California. Martin says that the Joaquín use them “for their personal enjoyment”, but that they asked for contributions from the parishioners to pay them.
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“The members of the‘ Apostle ’family, including Naason’s wife, the defendant Alma Zamora de Joaquín, lived in both properties and had access to a collection of exotic animals, either purchased by the family or given to the ‘Apostle’ by members of the elite of the Light of the World seeking a favor from the ‘Apostle’, ”the lawsuit states.
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“The properties are home to big cats like lions and tigers, a pet bear, oxen and hundreds of exotic birds,” he describes.
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These luxuries contrast with the poverty in which several faithful live, some undocumented immigrants.
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Joseph, a former member of the church in Los Angeles, said that in the congregation the love of God is measured with monetary contributions. “He who gives more money has more faith. He who does not give money has no faith, ”he lamented.
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This man says that some faithful have to sell food to finance the ambitious expansion project of the church in the US. “They force us to make new temples supposedly for the greatness of God. It is not for God, it is for the greatness of Naason and the Joaquins, ”he denounced.
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