Paul Crouch Granddaughter Exposes Corruption at TBN

Brittany Crouch Koper

Trinity Broadcasting Network’s president and founder Paul Crouch Sr.’s policy of putting family members in positions of power at the largest “Christian” TV network in the world may have come back to bite him. His granddaughter, Brittany Crouch Koper, who served as TBN’s chief financial officer, is accusing TBN “of unlawfully distributing charitable assets worth more than $50 million to the company’s directors.”

Koper filed a federal lawsuit against two TBN lawyers, Douglass S. Davert and David C. Loe, who reportedly instructed her to “shut up” about what she discovered in her position as financial officer. The complaint says that the lawyers intimidated Ms. Koper into returning her own perks which included her house, car, jewelry, life insurance and home furnishings. Failure to do so would result in jail time for her, the attorneys allegedly threatened. According to Koper, a false lawsuit had been filed against her and her husband Michael, also a TBN employee, charging them with misappropriation of funds, in October, 2011, in an attempt to stop her whistle blowing. That case was closed by the plaintiffs after she complied with the demands.

Coincidentally, that same month Koper’s father, Paul Crouch Jr, resigned his position from TBN as Chief of Staff, to “pursue other ministry opportunities.” His hasty retreat baffled many people. Why would he leave TBN as second in command next to hid dad to take a position at a small minority-owned network?

“Observers have often wondered how the Crouches can afford multiple mansions on both coasts, a $50 million jet and chauffeurs,” said Koper’s attorney, Tymothy MacLeod to the Orange County Register who broke the story of Koper’s lawsuit on February 9, 2012. That same day, Paul Crouch Sr. and his younger son Matthew Crouch made veiled threats at anyone who would try to come against TBN.

“There have been a few attempts in the TBN history to upset TBN, to stop TBN,” said Matt Crouch to his father on Behind the Scenes. “You know, there have been a few fools in the 39-year history...and you know what - any attempt at stopping TBN -- they have no idea who they’re actually pushing into the corner. You and mom get pushed in a corner - God help you. That’s a lesson I’ve learned from you, seriously.”

“God help anyone who would try to get in the way of TBN, which was God’s plan,” Paul Crouch responded. “I have attended the funeral of at least two people who tried.”

That threat should be taken seriously when you consider Brittany Koper’s allegations in her complaint that her Uncle Matthew brandished a firearm to threaten her.

Matthew Crouch “began tapping the firearm he had brought to the meeting and asked Ms. Koper what she thought would happen when she wrote a memo to the board critical of Matthew Crouch’s financial improprieties. Matthew Crouch continued tapping the gun he was holding to ensure that Ms. Koper recognized the lethal threat being made.”

Several years ago, someone who was suing TBN for plagiarism told this reporter that after filing suit against them, her brake lines were cut on her car and she was being tailed wherever she went. If these allegations are true, then TBN cannot point the finger at God for their protection. They seem to be taking matters into their own hands.

Lewdness at TBN

Another strange twist to this story is the accusation that defendant David Loe sexually harassed Koper on more than one occasion when she was working with him. The complaint says,

“Defendant Loe touched Ms. Koper in an overtly sexual manner repeatedly, told Ms. Koper that he was sexually aroused, made lewd and derogatory comments about engaging in sexual acts with Ms. Koper, and offered illegal drugs to Ms. Koper, who was defendant Loe’s client in that matter and others. In a business meeting, Mr. Loe made repeated remarks about Ms. Koper’s breast enhancement surgery, reached across the table in front of witnesses, and grabbed Ms. Koper’s breasts to (as Mr. Loe put it) ‘see if they feel real.’ After Ms. Koper repeatedly refused defendant Loe’s sexual advances, defendant Loe became cruel, vindictive, and malicious toward Ms. Koper.”

The Register reported “ that Koper is readying documentation regarding her charges and will submit a package to the Internal Revenue Service for its review.” Time will tell if Koper will follow up on this brave act or succumb to the intimidation that, she says in her complaint, has made her physically ill with “loss of appetite, physical weakness, nausea, headaches, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, stomach and digestive problems, malnutrition, hair loss, severe insomnia, and suicidal thoughts requiring counseling and medication.”

This is not the first time TBN has been rocked with scandal. In 2004, Paul Crouch Sr. settled out of court, paying out nearly half a million dollars, to keep another former employee quiet regarding an alleged 1996 homosexual fling between the two of them.

The Koper case has the potential of bringing even more disgrace, not only to TBN, but to the name of Christianity in the eyes of the onlooking world. It makes the PTL scandal look like a Sunday School picnic.

Brittany Koper could not be reached for comment and the defendants did not return messages left at their law offices.

[Further information on TBN and the Crouch lifestyle can be found in the book, The Fleecing of Christianity, by Jackie Alnor.]