Has Kent Hovind Really Handed The Keys To Creation Science Evangelism Ministries?

If you wanted to give credit to one person for Kent Hovind being a free man today, that person would probably be Don Camacho, foreman of the jury in Kent's trial last year.   He held out against the other jurors on convicting Hovind on anything and finally by way of compromise agreed to convict on contempt of court.  That charge was then thrown out on technical grounds.

Keys To The Kingdom

Camacho, for all his sympathy with Hovind, took a jaundiced view of Hovind's claim that Creation Science Evangelism was anything other than an alter ego for Kent.

He characterizes Kent as "not a guy who gives you the keys".

That the CSE trust or whatever it was supposed to be was considered an alter ego for Kent and Jo Hovind is at the root of the large income tax liability, which is likely still hanging over them.

A New Beginning?

The new CSE is working on being different, though.  Creation Science Evangelism Ministries, Inc. has been recognized by the IRS as exempt under 501(c)(3).  And according to this release, three new board members have been added - Bill Sardi, J.R. Hughes and Diane Hummel. (Bill Sardi gave me a guest post on the Kent/Eric CSE/GQ dispute back in April.)

Ernie Land, who is also on the board, told me there had been some turnover.  I did not get it clear as to whether there is still an open seat as they are aiming for five.

Ernie told me that they claimed exemption as an educational organization, so there will be a Form 990 required and they have to provide you a copy of their Form 1024 (exempt status application) if you ask for it.  I have made an informal request on the 2Peter3   website. We'll see if I end up having to jump through hoops or not.

Dino Defender

Kent Hovind himself is not on the board nor is he an employee or agent of CSEM.  There is, however, an "exclusive contract" with Kent, whom they dub Defender of The Faith.

You and I both know that "Fidei defensor" is a title granted to Henry VIII by Pope Leo X for his book defending the notion of there being seven sacraments.

 The title is still claimed by the reigning British monarch.  It is rather an intriguing moniker for an Independent Baptist.  The earliest instance of the title being hung on Hovind that I found was by skeptic Michael Shermer who debated him in 2004.

Kind Of Transparent

CSEM has indicated that it is committed to transparency.

They will help oversee the ministry in the spirit of transparency and showing itself to be approved by others. CSEM (Creation Science Evangelism Ministries) believes it is important for ministries that rely on donations to be completely transparent about it objectives, goals and use of funds toward those ends. Any designated funds donated will be applied to those projects or expenses designated, and will only be placed into other projects or other ministry expenses, after consultation and agreement with the donor

Transparency has its limits. When I asked Ernie about the contract, this is how he responded.

Our contracts are US Constitution article 1 section 10 private contracts. They will remain private and should the IRS attack again then a snare is in place to throw it all into International Court. All are signed “Without Prejudice UCC 1 – 308”. I like the term patriot, but actually adhere more to being a Constitutionalist. As you know from my $6mil lawsuit brought against me personally and my company by the FTC, I will use the International Court, and as in that case, the Federal Court seals everything, while removing me from the suit. Hey, maybe that experience is why I believe so adamantly in Conspiracy by the elites in Government. They seal documents, or hide them like Hillary’s emails, in most of the cases they lose or should I say the 1% they lose. Pretty good game they play. I guess they learned from the Harlem Globe Trotters

The More Things Change?

One of the most important concepts in the not for profit world is "inurement".  If the contractual arrangement is, in essence, that at the end of the day it is all up to Kent, there will not be a happy ending if the arrangement ever gets examined.  Kent's recent scolding open letter to Eric gives some indication that that could be the case.

I trusted you with all the CSE assets in 2006 and simply asked for them back when I got out of prison 1 year ago. You now use lots of smoke and mirrors to not do that. You say CSE inc is a new 2015 business name. You know full well that the CSE board voted to add the “inc.” a year ago to try to keep the alphabet gang happy.

The old CSE was found to be an alter ego of Kent and he seems to be stating there that nothing has really changed.

All I can say is that if there is still a seat available on the CSEM board and you are being tapped for it, the prudent thing to do would be to pass.

More Like King Lear Than Henry VIII?

As far as the dispute between Kent and Eric goes, it is well covered on Kent Hovind Unofficial and freekenthovind.com.For whatever it is worth, my view is that it would probably be best for Eric Hovind to take up another trade.  If I were really inclined toward conspiracy theories I would speculate that Kent and Eric are working in concert to maximize the family's share of the "creation science" marketplace.  I'm just throwing that out for laughs right now, but if Eric comes out in favor of geocentrism and flat earth, I'll run with it.

Some Real Journalists On The Job

The other interesting development that is well covered elsewhere is the coverage by the Monroe Journal. The Monroe Journal is a weekly published in Monroeville AL.  Monroevillie is the county seat of Monroe County, the next county over from Conecuh.  MJ ran a story on Hovind in which he gave his regular narrative that he had rehearsed so well on the right wing alternative media circuit.  MJ appears to be an actual new outlet, though, so the following week they ran a story with comments from Robert Baty, Randy Dunn and me.  It is behind a paywall, so I'll leave it to you to hunt down free copies or maybe spring for $25.

Conecuh County has The Monthly View, which is not behind a paywall.  I'm keeping an eye on it to see when Doctor Dino pops up.

About This Blog

Regular readers of Your Tax Matters Partner, who may well number in the scores, will have noted that for quite a while the blog has been pretty much all Doc Dino all the time.  This is largely due to low energy on my part in not coming up with any other tax related posts that are not forbes worthy.  My productivity on forbes.com has also been on the low side.  So help me out with some guest posts.  I mean I won't pay you or anything, but look at the exposure you will be getting.

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Peter J Reilly CPA has been following the Kent Hovind story for going on four years.  It seems longer.