- September 15th, 2023, 9:42 am
#655432
Lowlights from the latest suit filing -
Executive Committee has remained in place and, in practice, exercises the full power of the Board for the vast majority of the year, in violation of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Principles of Accreditation
indeed, at least two members of the Executive Committee drink, one of whom has been to rehab three times.
Jerry Vines is a member of the Executive Committee. After joining the Executive Committee and in the fiscal year ending June 2021, Liberty paid $100,000 to Jerry Vines Ministries, which is, upon information and belief, controlled by Vines.
Tim Lee is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and become an Executive Committee member after Mr. Falwell resigned from Liberty. After becoming an Executive Committee member, in the fiscal year ending June 2021, Liberty paid
$100,000 as an alleged “donation” to Tim Lee Ministries,
June 2022, Liberty made a “donation” of $76,000 to Wylie Preparatory Academy, a school in Texas that Lee’s granddaughters attended.
Between 2020 and 2021, Liberty paid $125,000 in purported “donations” to Gainey Foundation which was, upon information and belief, controlled by Gainey. Gainey secured annual contributions from Liberty—again by decision of the
Executive Committee—for students, staff, and faculty to “visit” his camp for a week in amounts ranging from $30,000 and up
June 2021, Liberty paid $200,050 to Samaritan’s Purse. In the same year, Liberty paid another $200,000 to Hope Partners International, which is an organization that is, upon information and belief, controlled by Kirk Nowery, the former Chief Operating Officer of Samaritan’s Purse. In the following year, Liberty paid the organization another $414,960. Upon information and belief, Hope Partners International secured the “donation” from Liberty by virtue of its ties to Prevo and Graham.
After Prevo assumed the presidency of Liberty on an interim basis, he sought for Liberty to improperly divert hundreds
of thousands of dollars of his salary to his personal foundation, which Liberty eventually ceased to do on advice of counsel. However, Liberty paid Dr. Prevo’s wife a substantial sum for her role as wife of the president of Liberty. Upon
information and belief, based on publicly available flight records, after assuming the presidency, Prevo racked up at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses associated with his use of Liberty’s corporate jet. Flight records show
that Prevo used the University’s jet to fly between Virginia and his home in Alaska on numerous occasions, each trip costing at least $35,000, as well as his home in Arizona, each trip costing $20,000.
Mr. Corry’s salary increased by 60% in a single year, despite no apparent change in job title, duties, or performance, for total compensation of $491,728.
Carroll Hudson was elevated to the role of Chairman of the Executive Committee after Mr. Falwell’s departure from Liberty.
Because the Executive Committee exercises control when the Board of Trustees is not in session the vast majority of the year—Hudson is, upon information and belief, the de facto presiding officer of Liberty’s governing board. Hudson has previously been accused of abusing his role as a trustee in connection with the assets of a family trust. Upon information and belief, an organization currently under the control of Hudson manufactures, among other things, portable
table top fire pits that carry the LIBERTY FLAMES designation. These fire pits are sold for approximately $100 each in Liberty University’s bookstore. Liberty’s sale of the fire pits is, upon information and belief, the result of actions taken by Hudson
In the past two years, a significant number—at least 12—of members of the Board of Trustees have also received substantial payments from Liberty, all in different amounts, many in the range of tens of thousands of dollars, and one as high as in excess of a hundred thousand dollars. In certain cases, the same individuals hold roles at Liberty such as
adjunct professor or similar roles
Upon information and belief, Jonathan has recently accepted another financial perk of the Chancellor’s position and is now in the process of moving into a home owned by Liberty on top of Liberty Mountain overlooking the campus. Upon information and belief, at Jonathan’s request, Liberty is also paying for the construction of a swimming pool on the property for the use of Jonathan and his family. In addition, five of Jonathan’s family members, including children and spouses of children, have recently become employed by Liberty in various roles.