Bizarre, Lawyering, Religion, Society

Making Millions From Mammon? Jay Sekulow Accused Of Funneling Millions To Family

It may be true that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon,” but Jay Sekulow, the advocate for conservative religious causes, seems to have found a way. A new report alleges that Sekulow and his family have reaped millions in defending religious organizations and fighting the separation of church and state. What is clear is that his decision to fight for religious groups did not involve a vow of poverty.

The report below details how in the 1980s, “Jay Sekulow’s career was in shambles. His Atlanta-based law firm had failed, leaving him millions in debt and bankrupt.” Yet, he soon hit upon a winning course in fighting dark secular forces on behalf of religious groups. The result was both spiritually and financially transformative.

Here is the run down of payments since 1998:

$15.4 million to the Constitutional Litigation and Advocacy Group, a law firm co-owned by Jay Sekulow. According to the 2009 tax form, he owns 50 percent of CLAG. The firm was known as the Center for Law and Justice when it received some of the payments.

$5.7 million to Gary Sekulow, Jay Sekulow’s brother. He is paid for two full-time jobs — as CFO of both the American Center for Law and Justice, or ACLJ, and Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism, or CASE. In 2009, his combined compensation topped $600,000.

$2.74 million in private jet lease payments to Regency Productions, a company owned by Jay Sekulow, and PFMS, a company owned by his sister-in-law, Kim Sekulow.

$1.78 million to Regency Productions for leasing office space and media production.

$1.11 million to PFMS for administrative and media buying services.

$1.6 million to Pam Sekulow, Jay Sekulow’s wife, including a $245,000 loan from CASE, which she used to purchase a home from the charity. The balance of the loan was later forgiven over several years and reported on the 990s as income.

$681,911 to Jay Sekulow’s sons, Logan and Jordan, for media work and other duties at CASE.

Notably, various people who have done business with Sekulow continue to defend him in this article as a modest and godly man — and his side is not reflected in the article. However, the huge sums going to his children and spouse would raise concerns for any advocate — secular or religious. For full disclosure, I have met Jay and participated in panels with him. I have always found him to be civil and knowledgeable on the religion clauses.

I am now considering turning this blog into a religious advocacy site. Frankly, you bums are clearly not the right sort to be consorting with . . . if I want to retire at any reasonable time. I support free exercise rights while I believe strongly in separation. While personally fulfilling, it is far from wealth-maximizing. For that reason, the site will likely be converted in the coming days to http://www.JDs-for-Jesus.org or http://www.lawangel.org. It is true that “no man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” However, a few million dollars could give me the time I need to reconcile my internal struggle in the South of France.

Source: Tennessean as first seen on ABA Journal.

32 thoughts on “Making Millions From Mammon? Jay Sekulow Accused Of Funneling Millions To Family”

  2. Who would Jesus sue?
    —————————-

    Jesus was a teacher, who called us to learn….asking us WWJS shows a lack of learning. So, if that society HAD to rely on lawsuits to correct mistakes , it isn’t a leap to figure out that he probably wouldn’t have been persecuted and killed if the law was actually legitimate and in place and something that could be relied on….so, because he was a teacher and he recognized the corruption, he probably wouldn’t sue anyone….because that would legitimize a corrupt institution. And feed the beast that starves the world…..and endanger others who sought to rely on the law…that wasn’t in place because of MAMMON(greed)…

    but the truth of what Jesus went through is out now so it’s not like they could hide thier crap….

  4. There seems to be a major contradiction between what Christianity is supposed to be…and stand for (love your neighbor and enemy, “you will be persecuted” render unto Caeser…), and what “defending it in a courtroom” would demonstrate.
    ————————————————–
    Jesus was persecuted….there is no defense for that. And as far as unseemly Christians, well, how many lambs before a person realizes they are not a lion but a brute?

  5. From a purely theological perspective, isn’t it curious to think if Sukelow had defended Jesus, successfully… What would the foundations of Christianity look like then?

    There seems to be a major contradiction between what Christianity is supposed to be…and stand for (love your neighbor and enemy, “you will be persecuted” render unto Caeser…), and what “defending it in a courtroom” would demonstrate.

  6. South of France?

    You’ll be needing someone to tend that garden for you.

    I will work for wine, cheese and bread (not necessarily in that order).

  8. Professor Turley,

    Thanks for the laugh 🙂

    “Frankly, you bums are clearly not the right sort to be consorting with . . . ”

    Your shoes are kinda big. They’ll be missed 🙂

    Here’s wishing you a few million dollars or more, your dream house in the south of France, your jolly old acquaintances too and not the slightest bit missing from your integrity.

  9. ‘Despite more than a dozen international conventions banning slavery in the past 150 years, there are more slaves today than at any point in human history. Slaves are those forced to perform services for no pay beyond subsistence and for the profit of others who hold them through fraud and violence.~Time mag’
    —————————————–
    Dredd I saw this on your site. This is acceptable policy here in the US. This is why it is ok to attack the middle class, serve up stagnating and retro-gressive wages, attack people by making them choose between paying thier bills or obtaining healthcare for existing illness and injury, This is the bona-fide example we are setting for the world right now….and yes, there is violence if you cannot toe the line. The most vulnerable are the first targetted because they are the least apt to be missed. What is surprising is that people are still surprised when they hear about slavery whn there have been deliberately ignored slavish conditions running rampant in this country for a very long time. Have you seen the penalty system for the working class versus the ‘business class’ in this country? You cannot even open your mouth here without sufferring a violence or 2, never mind worse…

    Welcome to my life….

  11. I’m sorry but, the constant here is probably not so much the religeous side of the equation……he has more in common with a redundancy of JD’s.

    Mammon=a sexy little beasty that hangs around with Ba’al and Ashtaroth . “Beelzebub and them that are with him shoot arrows”.

    Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
    No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and Mammon.

    —Matthew 6:19-21,24

  12. I generally feel awful presenting my obviously cynical hypothesis for consideration: Are right-wing politics and religion primarily just money making scams?

    Hearing about the years of modesty and self-sacrifice, not just from Jay Sekulow, but from so much of his family makes me feel deeply guilty for ever proposing such a hypothesis…

  13. “I am now considering turning this blog into a religious advocacy site. Frankly, you bums are clearly not the right sort to be consorting with . . . if I want to retire at any reasonable time.” -Jonathan Turley

    First smile of the day…

  14. raff,

    Tom the Pizza Man has that angle covered….I will say one thing about Tom, he is as cheap as his pizza’s….

  15. JD’s for Jesus?! A scary thought. Besides, I thought the religious law schools like Ave Maria and others had that angle covered already.

  17. Dear Uncle Jay,

    My momma told me to contact you when I was in town and that you’d help your kin folks. Momma told me you struck the lottery. I know this comes as a shock to you, but I am needing help in my studies of states interference in religious studies. If you can wire 1.5 million to my bank account in Nigeria my Uncle EmTu said he would gladly help spread the word. I await your reply.

    Please include in your response the ABA routing numbers so that deposits can be made into my account. Aunt WanBe sends her regards and is please that a relative of hers has made it so big. She said she was always proud that you went to law school and are doing the lords work.

    I await your reply.

  19. “Thank God” he isn’t a Jew anymore. We’re still stuck with the neocons and a bunch of economists, pundits and columnists whose dads were famous and whose coattails they rode in on.

  20. Frankly, you bums are clearly not the right sort to be consorting with . . .

    PROF!?! You just figured that out??? Hell I ain’t got no fancy book learnin degree nor no ivory tower job & I could tell you that the big money is ALWAYS in shearing the sheep for Jebus and/or kissing the enormous posterior of corporate American.

    They have just gotten a lot more brazen in the last 30 years. Today Elmer Gantry wouldn’t have to even pretend.

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