US financial regulator orders Mormon church to pay $1M penalty for inaccurate investment filings News
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US financial regulator orders Mormon church to pay $1M penalty for inaccurate investment filings

The Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday announced charges against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment management company for failing to file necessary forms and providing inaccurate information. The SEC first raised concerns about the church’s reporting practices in 2019.

The SEC specifically claimed that the church’s investment manager, Ensign Peak Advisors, and the church did not file forms that would have informed the SEC how much money the church had in its stock portfolio. To get around this filing requirement, the SEC alleged that the church and Ensign Peak created multiple limited liability companies and spread their stock portfolios across those LLCs to shield the true value of the assets.

The parties also misstated information on the forms provided to the SEC and claimed that the LLCs had full control over the equity portfolio, when in reality, Ensign Peak retained full control. Because the SEC believes that the church consented to the use of LLCs, the church is named as a party to the suit. Ensign Peak must pay a civil penalty of $4 million, and the church must pay a penalty of $1 million.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement on Tuesday addressing the charges. It maintained that it has cooperated with the government since the SEC raised concerns in 2019. The church also claimed in its statement that church executives listened to legal advice from their counsel in green lighting the use of the LLCs.

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