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Mary Manin Morrissey

Mary Manin Morrissey (born 1949) is a New Thought minister from Oregon, U.S.A. She was a founding minister of Living Enrichment Center in the 1970s. By the mid-1990s, the church's congregation was variously estimated at numbering between 2,000 and 5,000, making it the biggest New Thought church in the state of Oregon, as well as one of the biggest in the world. She is the author of Building Your Dreams[1] which chronicles Morrissey's realization of her dream to create a ministry, and No Less Than Greatness, The Seven Spiritual Principles that Make Love Possible[2] Mary Manin Morrissey also appears in The Moses Code. [3]

Contents

Legal controversy

Mary Manin Morrissey's second ex-husband, Edward Morrissey, pled guilty to money laundering and using church money for the personal expenses of himself and his wife, and spent time in federal prison. [4][5] The Newberg Graphic writes that the Morrisseys illegally raised millions of dollars by selling unregistered securities [6], and former Living Enrichment Center congregant John Trudel, who loaned the church $100,000, was disappointed that Mary Manin Morrissey did not serve jail time for misappropriating funds. [7] Willamette Week wrote that Steve Unger, lawyer for the Morrisseys, admitted that the couple had committed commingling. [8] [9] The Oregonian writes that Mary Morrissey signed a consent agreement with state securities regulators, agreeing to repay $10.7 million to her former congregation, but she is in default and that at the rate Mary Morrissey is making repayment it will take her 300 years to repay congregation debt in full. [10] KATU writes that the debt may never be repayed. [11] Wilsonville Spokesman has reported that the amount of money Mary Morrissey has repaid would amount to less than half a penny per dollar of debt. [12]

Wilsonville Spokesman reported in 2007 that Mary subsequently declared Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy in 2005. She was discharged from bankruptcy in November. So far (2007), the escrow account has collected $60,886, with Mary contributing most of that, state enforcement officer Simon Wahng said. She has met her monthly obligations to contribute 15 percent of her income. However, she paid only $20,000 of an up-front $50,000 fine. This failure triggered an additional $100,000 civil penalty. The state considers her in default on the fines, but is setting aside all her contributions for victims and not state coffers. “All the money goes to the restitution pool,” Wahng said.

“She has been cooperating with state officials,” he said. Morrissey has been traveling as part of her ministry, but the state is not collecting restitution based on her travel expenses that are paid by others. It can only collect based on the fees she is paid, Wahng said.

And in recent months, her contributions have been increasing steadily. “At the very least, she seems to be getting more successful,” Wahng said.

In an open letter from Mary Morrissey she stated “Back in 2004, there were those who told me I should simply file a full bankruptcy and walk away,” Morrissey stated in the letter. “I chose not to do that. I intend to repay those debts, and even if it is a long process, I am grateful some structure was created which allows me to make progress.”[13] KATU reports that Edward Morrissey agreed to plead guilty to money launder on the condition that Mary Manin Morrissey not be charged with a crime. [14] The Oregonian writes that Mary Morrissey signed a consent agreement agreeing to repay the debt, but that she is in default of the consent agreement. [15]

Current activities

"Friends of Mary", Morrissey's post-Living Enrichment Center for-profit [16] company, advertises in the lobby at LEC's final service.

Mary Manin Morrissey currently operates two companies, "Life Soulutions" and "Evolving Life Ministries". The Oregonian reports that the organization of Life Soulutions has prompted questions from the state of Oregon because Morrissey's partner, Karen Hanzlik, in the venture receives as much as 40% of revenue, meaning that this portion is not required to be diverted to the restitution fund. "But the organization of Morrissey's new company, LifeSoulutions, has prompted questions from the state. As currently organized, Morrissey's partner in the venture receives as much as 40 percent of the operation's revenue, which means it is not subject to the requirement that a portion of it be diverted to the restitution fund. State officials have asked Morrissey for documents detailing the corporate structure of LifeSoulutions. Morrissey told them that on the advice of an attorney, there are no such documents. Nothing was put in writing. "We're researching the law and considering our legal options," Whang said. "But it is a very unusual situation." [17] KATU, Portland's ABC affiliate, reports that because Mary Morrissey was permanently prohibited from holding the position of Officer, Financial Manager or Financial Fiduciary for any charitable or religious non-profit entity, her current companies, Life Soulutions, Evolving Life Ministries, and her church in Lake Oswego, Oregon, are operated as for-profit entities. [18] KATU also reports that in an interview Morrissey was evasive about her finances, but the news team tracked online donations to Morrissey's business, discovering they make their way to a Portland mail box controlled by Morrissey. Investigators from the state of Oregon want to make sure that Morrissey is not diverting money from her income, as a stipulation of her plea bargain with the state was that a portion of her income must be used to repay her debt to her former congregation. KATU reports that Morrissey has repaid only $74,000 since her plea bargain was struck in 2005.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Building Your Dreams - Random House, Inc.ISBN: 978-0-553-37814-6 (0-553-37814-7)
  2. ^ No Less Than Greatness, Random House, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-553-37903-7 (0-553-37903-8)
  3. ^ The Moses Code Retrieved August 31, 2008
  4. ^ KOIN 6 News Retrieved June 7, 2007 [1]
  5. ^ Wilsonville Spokesman: Morrissey to meet with LEC 'refugees' Retrieved June 9, 2007
  6. ^ Locals among victims of church fraud
  7. ^ The Question is: Where did the money go?
  8. ^ Robbin, Janine. The Prophet Margin. Willamette Week. ISSUE #30.29. [2] : "The fact is, unfortunately, that neither Mary nor anyone else at this point can answer questions about the disposition of funds loaned to Mary and [the] LEC," lawyer Steve Ungar wrote in an April 19 email to WW. "Why? Because the finances of [the] LEC, New Thought Broadcasting, Mary Morrissey and Ed Morrissey were treated not separately, but as a kind of 'financial family.' The technical accounting term for this is commingling."
  9. ^ Schellene Clendenin The question is: Where did all the money go?: "John Trudel just wants to know what happened to his money. A Newberg resident, Trudel’s name is one of a congregation of 4,100 people in the Portland area who loaned the Living Enrichment Center (LEC) in Wilsonville a total of $10.7 million to help pay off loans to purchase property. The LEC was affiliated with the New Thought Church.."
  10. ^ Ex-church leader falls far behind repayment schedule by The Oregonian
  11. ^ Prophet of Profit?
  12. ^ [http://www.wilsonvillespokesman.com/ Wilsonville Spokesman Morrissey to meet with LEC ‘refugees’. Kipp, Curt. May 30, 07:(NOTE: Wilsonville Spokesman doesn't provide direct hotlinks to archived articles. In order to read this article in its original context on their website one must log on to their website and utilize the search engine by entering article's title.)
  13. ^ http://www.wilsonvillespokesman.com/ARCHIVES/Story.aspx/3908/morrissey-to-meet-with-lec-refugees Morrissey to Meet with LEC refugees
  14. ^ Prophet of Profit?
  15. ^ Ex-church leader falls far behind repayment schedule by The Oregonian
  16. ^ Williamette Week: Forgive Us Our Debts...and lead us into bankruptcy.
  17. ^ [3] Retrieved August 8, 2007 [4]
  18. ^ KATU News: Prophet of Profit (11/8/07): "In her 2005 bankruptcy case, Manin-Morrissey was permanently prohibited from holding the position of Officer, Financial Manager or Financial Fiduciary for any charitable or religious non-profit entity."
  19. ^ KATU News: Prophet of Profit (11/8/07): "Manin-Morrissey said she is following those rules. Her current church operates as a for-profit business, according to the state. She would not talk specifically about her finances, but we tracked down where the online contributions go. They are sent to a UPS store on Barbur Boulevard - to a post office box controlled by Manin-Morrissey. State investigators told KATU News they want to make sure Manin-Morrissey is not diverting income because a portion of her pay is supposed to go into an account for victims. So far, there is $74,000 in the account. She and her ex-husband owe $10.7 million."

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