Golf, Prada, Disneyland Spending Dooms Church’s Nonprofit Status

An organization can’t reclaim its nonprofit status after the US Court of Federal Claims determined its disbursements “overwhelmingly” paid salaries and furnished gifts to the founder’s family.

Judge Molly R. Silfen dismissed Community Worship Fellowship’s request to restore its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status for the 2013 to 2016 years after listing off the luxury items the organization paid for to benefit the family of Lester Goddard, who founded it in 1998.

Among those expenses: “Prada handbags, jewelry, furs, Chanel fragrances, and private boat payments; paid for cruises and trips to Disneyland, Hawaii, and Paris.” The judge rejected a number of arguments ...