News coverage of 100 Huntley/alleged Driver ponzi scheme at Bene Diction Blogs On

News coverage of 100 Huntley/alleged Driver ponzi scheme

Two news outlets have picked up the Crossroads press release (more media will as it goes out on the wire) that Ron and Reynold Mainse stepped down from their responsibilities at Crossroads Christian Communications. Ron was president of Crossroads, his brother Reynold VP of MIssions. Both were hosts of the show 100 Huntley Street.

The first is CTV: No church cash in alleged scheme

The Canadian ministry behind “100 Huntley Street” says church money was not misappropriated by the TV show’s hosts, who have been suspended over links to a US$14.1-million Ponzi scheme.

Crossroads Christian Communications CEO Doug McKenzie says any investments made by Ron and Reynold Mainse were “personal and private” in nature and did not draw from the ministry’s 20,000-plus pool of donors.

In May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a court order halting the scheme allegedly run by Gordon Driver, 51, a dual resident of Hamilton and Las Vegas.

In its complaint, the SEC alleged Driver solicited friends, neighbours, and business acquaintances to invest in his company, Axcess Automation.

Crossroads Christian Communications is not a church, and I’m not clear if this is a slip up or reference to churches which alleged point people or finders in the Driver/Axcess case attend or attended.

Crossroads Christian Communications is a Canadian charity known for it’s TV program 100 Huntley Street. It’s a 23 million dollar media/ministry business. Crossroads Christian Communications spun off a none profit cable station from it’s Burlington Studios, CTS. Crossroads bills 100 Huntley Street as the largest Canadian religious televangelist show in Canada.

The second is Canadian Christianity: Mainse brothers step down from Crossroads during ponzi scheme investigation.

Lorne Jackson, president of the Canadian National Christian Foundation(CNCF), told CC.com that he believed the Mainse brothers to be men of integrity. He said they both had taken training from the CNCF’s ‘Advisors with a Purpose’ program, which attempts to equip financial advisors and ministry leaders with tools to deal wisely with investment decisions.

Jackson said the first he had heard of the SEC complaint or the Crossroads’ board action was from the CC.com reporter.

While declining to talk about the case in question, Jackson had some guidelines for ministry leaders who also are expected to be investors.

Crossroads is also a member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities and there have been no word from the organization on whether the council board is aware, or investigating involvement of the Mainse brothers and their cousin and former Crossroads Director of Ministry Relations David Rutledge. The Council has 3000 members.
David Rutledge is named in the Ontario Exchange Commission order regarding Axcess Funds. David Mainse, founder of 100 Huntley Street and Crossroads Communications sent a newsletter out to donors after his sons were removed from leadership.

The Maranatha News which was first mentioned in the Christian Week article on the alleged affinity fraud now has CEO’s Doug McKenzie’s interview online.

MN: How did you learn about it?
DM: Our board became aware through some Christian friends of the ministry.

MN: Why did the Board determine to take the step of removing the Mainse brothers from their positions?
DM: We know that Ron/Reynold had invested with Mr. Driver. While that investigation continues, Crossroads’ board of directors feels it is best for our ministry that they step aside.

The timeline of the events regarding the investigation and civil case in the US against Gordon Driver, as well as choices by Crossroads and blogs picking up events and providing background is here.

Crossroads CEO Doug McKenzie’s pr is focused on Crossroads Christian Communications, not on investors harmed in this alleged affinity fraud. According to US court documents, about 15 US investors were identified, and investigators say approximatley 85 Canadians invested in Axcess Automation/Axcess Funds.

As this Crossroads statement goes out and gets picked up by media:

CBC:100 Huntley Street hosts suspended during Ponzi scheme probe
The Canadian Press used CTV’s copy mislabelling Crossroads Christian Communications as a church: ‘100 Huntley Street’ says church money not used in alleged Ponzi scheme.
The Spec which broke this story in Canada, also used the wire copy’s term ’church money ‘.

Most news outlets will pick up the Crossroad pr today.
Update: Out of 22, 18 are using the copy calling 100 Huntley and Crossroads Christian Communications a church. sigh.

For investors: After the May filing by the Commodities and Futures Commission of the civil case against Gordon Driver, there was a pre-trial hearing in California District court in June. Gordon Driver did not have a lawyer, and the argument before the judge centred around unfreezing some of his assets requested by Driver, so he could pay council. Judge Wright (California US District Court) agreed on limited release and the next pre-trial hearing is in early August. Once I receive confirmation of the dates from California, I’ll post them. There are also posts for investors on affinity fraud.
Several sources say there is an active involvement by Canadian financial investigators.

Published 7 months, 1 week ago 20 comments

20 Responses to “News coverage of 100 Huntley/alleged Driver ponzi scheme”

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1 Martha-Jane (MJ) on Jul 3rd, 2009 at 8:44 am

Bene!
What has precipitated the sudden burst of interest by the secular media?
2 Bene D on Jul 3rd, 2009 at 4:34 pm

What a great question MJ.:^)

I don’t know.

From a media standpoint I can speculate a couple of possibilities:

From the US side, nothing is happening court wise for another month, so:

a) someone telling someone on the Canadian side to move the story
b) a lot comes across the desk, someone going through the files puts something together, throws it on the wire
c) Marantha News finally gets it up on their webpage and decides to notify a news room

29 outlets picked up the same thing, the copy centres around Doug McKenzie’s interview with Maranatha News, and all the outlets except 4 picked it up as filler, no re-write.
The four that did a re-write didn’t provide any information The Hamilton Spectator story or the Globe Financial page or the wire copy didn’t have.

Canadian media has had the alleged affinity fraud and host removal information since late May, early June.

It’s hardly a sudden burst of interest – it’s filler and a re-cycle.

Nothing sinister to a short flurry, just basic facts going out across a wire.
Bit stale for those following this, but other than the use of ‘church’ the copy is factual.

The ‘church’ reference was sloppy, which makes me wonder if it may have been a case of ask a summer intern to sort through files and write something.

Even the London Free Press and Halifax Herald which do a decent job of religious coverage didn’t catch ‘church.’

The visual identifier is David Mainse, not the crew who have been working the show since 2003. Not good for a media ministry handling a crisis and trying to move forward in an economic downturn. The other visual is a blank TV screen.

If I was CEO of Crossroads I’d be concerned, public disinterest doesn’t bode well for the future of Crossroads.

While negative public comments under this copy would be the norm, there is very little of even that.

If you think about it, McKenzie gave his re-act interview to an in-house (friendly) charismatic print mag a few weeks ago and it didn’t catch attention until yesterday. Marantha’s web presence is dismal and they didn’t care enough to push this. Even for an in-house that was done poorly.

What do you think precipitated moving it now?
3 Tim on Jul 3rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm

I know hindsight is always twenty twenty but it would seem to me had the Crossroads Board been more open in their communications from the outset there would be less surmising going on.

As my father once said “when the ostrich sticks his head in the sand you can be sure he will get his ass kicked…”

All to say we ought not to be surprised that the national media are becoming interested in a story that has been unnecessarily shrouded in mystique.
4 Bene D on Jul 3rd, 2009 at 6:04 pm

“when the ostrich sticks his head in the sand you can be sure he will get his ass kicked…”

arr arrr arrrr!
5 I Miss Frank Magazine on Jul 6th, 2009 at 2:01 pm

Globe and Mail just settled a Strike vote–maybe reporters there will be a litle more alert!
6 Bene Diction on Jul 6th, 2009 at 2:46 pm

This is the kind of story Michael Valpy could do justice to, no matter what the outcome.

- There were less than 100 comments under the CBC story when I looked yesterday.
- The largest viewership of a 100 Huntley video is just over 12 thousand on YouTube, which, given it was NT Wright, is small.
- The Facebook page is a few people commenting over and over.
- Volunteers let go.
- The webpages that were taken down, the re-runs, the abundance of US guests – whatever Crossroads was – or billed itself to be, isn’t going to be again.

One of the Rutledge family members went to Drivers first court appearance in June, the next one is in August.
It would be interesting to know how many family members and employees got sucked into the second group of Axcess investors and how far back they’ve stepped.
7 Torontonian on Jul 6th, 2009 at 4:05 pm

It’s rather painful to read the remarks on the CBC page.

It’s also very hard to find any kind comment on that
page.

Those two facts don’t speak well for the future of
the ministry.

The calibre of comments are about the lowest I have
ever seen for CBC comments.

It’s amazing the antipathy that’s out there;
it’s also very depressing.
8 Bene Diction on Jul 6th, 2009 at 9:40 pm

Antipathy and apathy. Polorized and low calibre.
Yeah, it is depressing.
9 Torontonian on Jul 7th, 2009 at 9:19 am

I’ve just noticed that 100 Huntley Street is no longer
on Vision TV. I know it was there 2 weeks ago and
since then, something’s happened.
10 Bene D on Jul 7th, 2009 at 12:16 pm

A lot has changed since this 2004 article in Mediacaster called Channelling Faith.
http://tiny.cc/ACaNp

I’ve write Vision and asked when 100 Huntley was withdrawn or withdrew.
100 Huntley is still on The Miracle Channel, worth keeping an eye on for awhile.

If a reader in the GTA wants to call Vision and ask, that would be helpful.
11 Torontonian on Jul 8th, 2009 at 2:37 pm

The broadcast 100 Huntley Street is no longer on Vision TV.

An e-mail from them today states:

The ministry has decided to stop ‘purchasing airtime’ on VisionTV.

100 Huntley Street was an on-again/off-again thing with Vision TV.

There would be spans of time with no 100 Huntley and then it would
be back on the air except during fundraising weeks when it would
be in repeats.
—————
Curiously, on the Miracle Channel’s listings the broadcast is listed
as:

100 Huntley Street with Ann Mainse

I don’t know what’s going on there. Maybe a Miracle Channel
watcher can add something to this.
—————

The program Nite Lite continues to be in repeats on weekends.
Bayridge Family Center was the regular host for Saturday/Sunday
and another person on Sunday/Monday.

Even a nighttime call in show is having trouble staffing
its airtime.

It gives me cause to wonder if people aren’t getting overly
tired of the same thing week in and week out?

Charities call it donor fatigue; this situation is volunteer
fatigue.

Will it last out the year?
and
12 Bene D on Jul 8th, 2009 at 4:34 pm

Got an email from Vision TV, exactly the same as yours:

Thanks for your email. The ministry has decided to stop ‘purchasing airtime’ on VisionTV.

Thanks for watching VisionTV.

VisionTV
Audience Relations

I was looking at charities in the US and ministries that have suffered economically – 4 magazines and layoffs at Christianity Today and Aid International which had been going since the 1980’s closed down.

Crossroads may be in more economic trouble than we realize.
I wouldn’t want to be on that board – 2 -3 months to get out of crisis management and into recovery doesn’t seem to be happening.
13 Walter on Jul 9th, 2009 at 11:28 am

JN 18:20 Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing.

Besides the Pastor knows best attitude, what irks about Pentecostal family owned and run ministries such as Crossroads Ministries is not only Nepotism and the Nicolatian attitude and rule but how when real trouble comes, these ministries led and run by pastors don’t have a real solution to solve their problem(s) but clamp up when openness and honesty remains to be the best policy

I am waiting to see how the Mainse and Ruthelidge think they will get out of this mess that they have created all by themselves?
14 Travis Heaton on Oct 13th, 2009 at 9:29 am

Hey Ron! Cheer up! Just wanted to let you know that we are human and we all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them so we will be wiser in the future and I know that you have learned a lot from this experience. What I admire about you is despite the clammy palms, dry mouth, knocking knees and pounding heart you sought to come clean and in the attempt you came across as honest, sincere and genuinely repentant. What more can one ask for? Be encouraged and be blessed in the glorious name of Yeshua! His plans and purposes cannot be defeated! Yes indeed, the best is yet to be!
15 walter on Oct 13th, 2009 at 12:05 pm

Ron – Be of good cheer even though are a naive and incompetent by your own words you will get your job back because your father is the founder? However being an agent in a ponzi scheme is more than a mistake it’s a criminal act! And I am sure all the victims will forgive you for after all you are a preacher who is used to taking money from other people?