[Jehovah's Witness] Church elders sentenced to 15 years for $6 million theft
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
by The Associated Press
DEER LODGE (AP) – Two Jehovah’s Witness church elders who fleeced a 100-year-old Deer Lodge woman out of her life savings and family ranch were sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison with 10 suspended.
District Judge Ted Mizner sentenced Darryl Willis, 64, of Helena, and Dale Erickson, 54, of Missoula, in what prosecutors called the biggest theft case in Montana history.
The men – who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, theft and securities fraud – were ordered to pay $6.5 million in restitution.
The thefts included taking a nearly $400,000 brokerage fee for illegally and secretly selling Una Anderson’s $5.3 million Powell County ranch for $4 million.
More than $2 million went to finance a failed effort to establish Montana’s first foreign capital depository, which would offer a place for the super-rich to stash their money similar to Swiss-style or offshore banks.
Mizner said the sentence represents a “small measure of justice” for Anderson, whose life savings and 6,400-acre family ranch were lost in a befriend-and-betray scheme that played out from 1995 to 2002.
The men used a complex system of trusts and interlocking companies to steal Anderson’s money while living in expensive homes, driving luxury cars and traveling extensively, court records said.
Anderson, who is now 101, said she is glad that justice was served, but is sad for the men who made poor decisions and ruined their lives.
“It’s sad to think of those two young people,” she said of Erickson and Willis. “My life has been good, but it’s almost over. They had everything ahead of them.”
During the sentencing hearing, family members and a social worker for Adult Protective Services, Janel Pliley, asked the court to impose the maximum sentence allowed by law _ which would have totaled 40 years.
Kelson Colbo, whose grandfather was Una Anderson’s first cousin, said Erickson and Willis used Anderson’s trust with the church as leverage to convince her to trust them with her finances.
The case was brought to the attention of authorities in September 2001 by members of Anderson’s family and Pliley.
My mother was a Jehovah witness from the late 1950s until her current senility.
I was under the impression that the religion was benign and not financially threatening. That is until my mother started to show signs of senility. Then the hierarchical construct of elders and the insulating quality of shunning anyone that questions them became crystal clear. Elders suddenly started showing up and actively and blatantly started trying to manipulate my mother in not only giving up her entire bank account but they even tried to get her to sign over her will along with power of attorney.
The IRS is well aware of the billions that come into the New York office and have been trying for decades to get this cult moved from a religious status to cult status so that they can see the books and tax them.
You are no better than the catholic religion, give me a break you blind people.
Talk about religion when you have read it’s history!
ronald willow baltimore
Thanks for those encouraging comments my christian brothers and sister….. And thanks those who are against we Jehovah\’s witnesses… I was persecuted by my family member because i was a JW AND still remain faithful to him after all this while… But they are still strongly against me.. Am only 19 and i find that i am always happy when i share in the ministry…. So if there is anything you don\’t understand about witnesses or our doctrine… Just send your mail to whisper2bay@mocospace.com brotherly love to you all…. Keep your eyes on ties prize always my fellow brothers and sister and new one we are one in the organization… Walex
YOU NEVER LYING……YOU DON’T HAVE NO BUSINESS IN THIS SITE…..YOU WILL GET KICKED OUT….
Has anyone ever writen to the Watchtower Society for help with a serious problem such as molesting or abuse from an elder only to have your letter forwarded to the congregation and have nothing done?
My ex husband an elder, let his brother in law get away with mosesting our 11 year old daughter.Before the police were about to catch him through a confrontational phone call, my husband went to warn his sister. she told her husband ,the molester and as a result, he was never caught. My ex husband told all the JW’s I was a mental case. My ex husaband was an abuser of me and our children. Emotional, pushind, shoving, hitting, financial and sexual.
I agree with what you say about the comments that are on this site. I was raised in a religious household until J’Ws came to my door with the Kingdom message. Hence I have studied on and off for 14 years and have seen many things occur among Witnesses. I must say however, that this is what the Bible foretold as the “last days” and “critical times hard to deal with” have proven to be here. Many a religion start off proclaiming that “they” are the true religion, but…it doesn’t take long and they fizzle out. Where are the J’Ws? Still preaching and teaching, even after severe persecution, including comments that occur on this site. I don’t see other religions doing the preaching work like Jesus commanded them to do. When I read the negative comments about J’Ws, I thank Jehovah for his promise that all this “will be done away with”, after all, Jesus apostles quarrelled among themselves. It’s a part of human nature, and no one is “perfect”. Finally, I to am aiming for baptism this year and I don’t care what comment I recieve after putting in this one.
Wow, who is this brainwashed Tee who was able to post a 12 messages in a couple of hours. Did he just have a vision from Joeover? Or did he just discover computer interaction for the first time in his life?
Jesu would feel pity for them and show love in the meantime. Let it go James. The truth will set you free and enable you too to Love all folks no matter the background, color, religion.
Tee
Lol….that’s the truth, you betta follow those rules…LOl.
it’s all good. May Jehovah help us all, because we all need it. and what’s comforting is that he’s bigger than we can ever imagine, his mind is not limited like imperfect humans.
Janice, Who do you think you are? What makes you think that you (as in JWs) are the only ones who are trying to live up to and uphold bible standards? I know I am and I’m no longer a JW.
Disfellowshipping is a nonsense just like the word itself (my computer doesn’t like it and I couldn’t find it in my dictionary) and I certainly don’t think that the system used by the JWs to keep the congregation ‘clean’ is working either. I agree with you Christian on that one.
Mike, I am so glad you mentioned ‘the two most important commandments’. Do you know what love is? Because I do, I feel it in my heart and do my best to live by these laws every single day of my life. So answer me this (if you are still around), why was I treated in the same way as someone who had been disfellowshipped even though I had disassociated myself and why am I still being shunned 16 years later?
Camille, Do you realise just exactly what you said way back in January? ‘Isn’t everyone entitled to their point of view?’ Yes! But can’t you see? That is exactly what the JW religion is not recognising. Hence why they get so much flack, because they are putting themselves above everyone else. It’s all back to front for some reason. I agree with you about the more personal comments though.
Sandi, I once thought as you do until I saw the truth for what it is. You will never be free while ever you are in such a controlling environment. I am sorry. I actually feel very sad for you.
Steve, if you think that this brother and a few sisters have committed a criminal offence, then I think you should go to the authorities where you live and let them sort it out for you.
Dianne
Oh and by the way Jabez, I don’t believe there is any malice in my comments. I am after all only expressing my opinion, which is as it should be. Yes?
well I read all of your posts and the reason im here is to get some legal information about the lady that got 6 million stolen by 2 elders in her congregation. well I am beinf ripped off by a brother in good standing that just happenes to have married my mothers sister for her money, he 51 and she is in late 70’s, So far in the past few months he has stolen from my inhertance and I have to take to court to get the exact dollar amount but was 17000.00 a few years back. I have been raised in truth and mother joined in early 1920’s I personall grew up going to every meeting and pioneering with mother when I was to young for school and could walk. and been to every assembly, I for some reason did not get the bug, was never baptised but went through QUSTIONS but had been thrown out over a problem of another witness kid busting my teeth out in high school. so one day within the last month I found out about the real truth. Im feeling like I did when I found out that I had lived a lie for 40 years I was adopted and never told intill I found the truth in a baby book.
Well if any one knows of other cases that witness have done theft involving estates I would really be gratefull. the watchtower is geting 50 % of estate and I have No problem with that but this one brother and a few sisters are involved ind my goal is to expose them, and file criminal charges. so please help because im poor and have to sue pro per.
mike, run as fast as you can from this ungodly organization. i was raised a jw in the 70’s through the late 80’s and have seen their doctorines change numerous times. they said the world would end in 1975,they used to let members smoke tobacco, and they even celebrated holidays in the 1920’s or so.they say they were enlightened by jehovah on such matters. so whos guidence were they following before being enlightened,god does not change his mind as does the organization. the reason they do not wanting you to talk to disfellowshipped people is they are afraid you might learn the truth from them. please investigate them extinsivly so you dont get caught in their web of brainwashing and deceit. jesus loves you and wants you to come home. bill
Actually, what would Jesus do? Well, no one here on the planet knows for sure, however my money is on the fact that he would expose & destroy the WTS as a false prophet!
Why do you have to degrade other people. Isn’t everyone entitled to their point of view? Websites like these only show me that a lot of people who are in opposition to JW don’t have true love in their hearts and this is manifested in how they treat other people e.g. comments like
“Is the sky blue on your planet as well?”
“Janice. Get an education. Are you Semi-Retarded? Learn to spell also. ”
That is definitely not what Jesus would say or do.
JW’s don’t claim perfection, they try to live by the Bible and of course there are bad people among us and people who misuse their authority – just like any organisation made up of humans, but you can’t make a sweeping judgement based on those individuals.
Is the sky blue on your planet as well?
Tell the elders you are on the internet searching about JW’s and see what they say. you are NOT allowed to do that, you will get in trouble!
So what does that tell you? Your religion is no different than any other or group. Bad apples are everywhere, no religion is no different, it just says that it is.
Out of all these comments whos the one that sounds unhappy and just out to speak with malice? Certainly not Janice.
THANK YOU FOR SEEKING OF JW’S JUST CONTINUE ON WHAT IN YOUR MIND AND ALWAYS FOLLOW HIS COMMAND AS JESUS SAID ON MAT.24:14 THAT WE ARE GOING TO PREACHED OF GOD’S WORD TO THE PEOPLE IN ORDER TO SAVE AND LIVE PARADISE ON EARTH…PLS REMEMBER THAT JEHOVAH GOD IS OUR SAVIOUR…….DONT DESPAIR IF THERE IS TRIAL COME IN YOUR LIFE AND DONT FORGET TO PRAY JEHOVAH WHERE EVER YOU ARE……………………….
Greetings to all. I can understand everyones feelings on the matter of Jehovahs Witnesses.Most of the ones attending the meetings do their very best to uphold Jehovahs laws and standards.But all it takes is a few ones to ruin it all for the others.This happens in all walks of life, such as a “black sheep of a family”.Jesus himself spoke of “workers of lawlessness”, which all Jehovahs Witnesses should know that this scripture at Matt 7:21-23 actually applies to them, and that some but few workers of lawlessness will be in their congregations all around the world. Many are dissfellowshipped, but ALL workers of lawlessness will NOT inherit Jehovahs kingdom.The whole website is filled with expierences of these workers of lawlessness, which puts a distrust feeling to those that who do uphold Jehovahs law-which is not fair. Its like blaming me for what my fleshly brother did.-And we will hear more bad things that these workers of lawlessness in many days to come. All the best to you all.
I’m 32 yrs. old and have loved God since I was a teen. I surched the scrips and wanted to know the truth. I went to church regularly; EVERY Sunday, and Wednsday and my pastor was a very educated man but he could not tell me what the scrips meant. I could not understand how some “so called Christains” could do very bad things and go to heaven while so good men who weren’t “so called saved” would die and go to hell. Then one day a JW lady came to my sisters door and while trying to explain something to her my “so called Christian” sister was running off with her mouth quoting scrips that she had no idea what they meant;; I sat and just listened quietly..The JW lady made sence; I later looked her up at the local Kingdom Hall and she told me that she didn’t even realize I had been there at my sisters house at that time. I know in my heart that I was the sheep that Jehovah had sent her for. I have been studing for almost a yr now and am on my way baptism. When I ran across this website I wanted to cry because people don’t know the real JW’s . They can’t see the love and the truth that we have. I’ve never met a group of people more dedicated than the W’s. They put their whole heart and lives into helping each other and trying to warn people of whats coming. They don’t ask for anything, no gas money, no money for books. They do it because Jehovah tells them to and because they don’t want anyone to be destroyed in the end.. JW’s are not the only “Christian” people who have had bad fruit in the basket, but they are the only ones that are really hit hard. But some thoughts did come to mind; it was religous leaders that had Jesus killed. The bible says we would be hated for his name sake; Oh how the so called “Christians” hate us and can do anything but let a JW’s do the same thing and look out…My children had all kinds of friends before I started surching out the JW’s but now they don’t. In fact the kids that pick on them come from Baptist and Penticostal back grounds. I wonder where the loyal love is in those religons because they sure don’t show it. And websites like these sure don’t show love..I can very proudly say; At one time I was a baptist, then a Penticostal And now that I have learned the truth; I WILL NEVER be anything but a Jehovah’s Witness..As Joh 8:32 says; You know the truth and the truth will set you free…
It’s simple. Jehovah’s Witnesses are imperfect too. Just as you are, and every individual on this sick, Satan run, disease ridden earth. It’s not easy being human today, regardless or race, religion, or any orientation, is it?
I have sought peace in my heart my entire life and have never had it until I became a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses. You’re right Janice. We NEVER claim to be perfect. We just live our best according to God’s laws. Do we make mistakes? Absolutely! Terrible mistakes. But we are different in that we work very very hard to live up to Jehovah’s laws, judicial decisions, and the moral standards outlined in the Scriptures.
Unfortunately, there is the odd individual in the organisation that goes wayward and if we cannot straighten him out according to the doctrines, we “disfellowship” the person, basically, throw them out of the organisation. This is something that is practised in many organisations, religious and secular. If you don’t follow the rules and the doctrines of the group, then you’re not welcome. This NOT ust the JW’s, isn’t that so?
This website is so full of ignorance that it stuns we to know that mankind can be this stupid.
But, as the scriptures tell us, these things are a sign of the end times. Just read 2Timothy 3:1-5. It’s 2000 years since those words were spoken and they describe today’s situation to a pinpoint.
Better still, talk to a Witness and they will answer any question about the matter you may have. In fact, they will answer any about the organization as well.
Remember Christ gave the two most important commandments to mankind during his ministry. They are;”Love Jehovah your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole strength and your whole soul,” and “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF.”
With that, I wish you peace and send you brotherly and spiritual love,
Mike from canada
Janice. Get an education. Are you Semi-Retarded? Learn to spell also. Not all that have been disfellowshpped should be disfellowshipped. Disfellowshiping means no more fellowship. They go after people who have not been active for years, so that is just being spiritual police. Disfellowshipping is not supposed to be about punishment, it is only for keeping the congregation clean, according to the Scrtptures. But, selfassuming, haughty men sometimes decide they are going to “get” someone, and misuse their religious power and position.
Wo do you think you are? Since when as anyone every expected perfection out of you. I know several Jehovah witness and guess what it takes all kind. They have never claimed perfection, but do try to live and uphold bible standards. The key work is try, why are you blaming one organization for other problems. People can pick and choose to be a witness, if you do not like it leave. Those who become disfellowshiped should have known better. Just because one has certain desires, does that mean we should act upon them. Give me a break! Give people – humankind some credit.