Televangelists Stole $50M to Live Large: Lawsuit

Apparently doing God's work pays divinely, or so says a lawsuit that accuses the founders of the world's largest Christian broadcasting company of defrauding the Trinity Broadcasting Network of some $50 million. The suit against founders Paul and Jan Crouch claims they treated themselves to 13 mansions, luxury jets, and a $100,000 mobile home just for dogs, reports the Daily Mail. The kicker? The accusations come from a lawsuit filed by the Crouches' granddaughter, Brittany Koper, who they fired in September, just three months after making her chief financial director of the ministry.

After firing Koper and another employee, TBN filed a suit last year accusing them of forging documents to steal from the network. That lawsuit was dismissed, but Koper filed a countersuit, claiming she was fired because she discovered the Crouches' "illegal financial schemes." The church watchdog group Wall Watchers calls TBN one of the 30 worst ministries in the world and has given it an "F" for transparency. "They're basically taking money from old people and putting it in their pocket and living the high life," says the head of Wall Watchers. (More Trinity Broadcasting Network stories.)