Like I promised in Part One of the saga, onward to the real fun.
For those of you just joining us, we are now beginning an in depth look at the Pink Cross Foundation, which serves as Shelley Lubben’s prime organization for “fellowship” and “missioning” of porn performers wanting to get out and, to use the old cliche, “find Jesus Christ as your personal Savior”.
The problem is, though, that their stated financial disclosures tend to tell a bit less alturistic tale of their motives.
Some background before we begini: The Pink Cross Foundation sells itself as a tax-deductible charitable foundation under the terms of Section 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code. Under those terms, orgs seeking tax credit or tax deductable privileges under that umbrella are required to retroactively justify their tax-exempt status by filing and publically disclosing upon request Form 990 (among other forms), stating the org’s membership, detailing their revenue and expenses streams, and verifying that the majority of their funding is used for the purpose of charitable giving given in their mission statement. These forms, as I said, are not only required to be filed every year that the charitable org exists, but have to be accessible to the public and to every donor making a contribution to the organization.
In the case of the PCF, they were first chartered as an charitable org in 2008, and as such filed for 501 (c) tax exempt status for the years 2008 and 2009, using the standard Form 990 (the EZ version for 2008; the more detailed, itemized version for 2009).
And here is where the fun begins.
One of the main requirements that the Feds give to charitable organizations seeking tax exempt status is that there be a clear firewall of seperation between the organization and any individual who may even hint at profiting personally from that org. In other words, if, say, Michelle Obama wanted to start her own charitable org to promote ending hunger, she would have to have that org be run as a seperate entity, with her recieving no direct aid or salary or having any position of financial power over the revenue or contribution stream going to that org.
So, what’s the relevance of that to the Pink Cross Foundation and Shelley Lubben?? Whheeeeelllllllll….take a gander of a the following two screenshots taken of the “official copies” (more on the need for parentheses anon) of the PCF’s tax forms filed for 2008 and 2009, respectfully (eternal h/t:to Julie Meadows, who posted the originals here):
Please direct your attention to the URL at the top of each page. You will notice that they all point to “shelleylubben[dot]com”.
NOT “pinkcross[dot]org”, which just so happens to be the official domain for the PCF’s official website. Not even “pinkcroos[dot]net”, another domain name bought by Lubben as a back up (and which currently also redirects people to her personal website.
Now..didn’t someone over there actually think about the alarm bells that could potentialy go off about the prospect of having a charitable organization so intimately linked with its founder and executive director to the point of sharing the same website??
Apparently they didn’t….at least not until just recently, because up til last week, this was exactly the case. It was only after Julie Meadows made it public knowledge that someone over at the PCF (mabye Lubben or her webmasters) redirected the URLs to have them go to the PCF’s website rather than Lubben’s.
OK….so that solved that issue, right?? Not bloody likely.
That was only the cosmetic , the patina….break through the seal and actually look through the records, and a more sinister and less altruistic motive emerges.
And, break through the seal is exactly what Julie Meadows and her husband Doug did: they managed to get full copies of the PCF returns and analyze them with a fine-tooth comb. The results, needless to say, raise far more questions than answers.
So many questions, in fact, that Julie and Doug were moved to make a video out of their research, one that is now up for display and review on YouTube (via her JulieMeadowsEnt page) and at Julie’s home blog. She has gracefully given me permission to repost the four parts of video here, to which I am grateful.
I couldn’t post the video in its entirity, so I’m using the 4-part series they posted to YouTube. It’s more than worth the time.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
And finally…Part 4:
Some highlights:
1) OK, so Garret Lubben (Shelley’s hubby) is listed as “secretary” on the tax form, but not as any official paid staffer. So..why the HELL is he plastered all over the Pink Cross site as “Director”, and “Secretary/Treasurer”, which, in case you don’t notice, makes him a staff member?? Why hide that fact froom the returns, Shelley?? Hiding income much??
2) Lovely juxaposition between the two returns: $64,520 of income listed in 2008 return; as compared to $64,250 posted in the 2009 return for “last year’s income”. Gee…nice proofreading, guys. Did you just rush through the return, or are you really that slipshod??
3) In 2008 return, Shelley signs her own return. In 2009, they outsource it to some org called Business Management Services Inc. out of Bakersfield, and Garret signs the return as “Treasurer”. What exactly changed between 2008 and 2009 that Shelley couldn’t sign it herself?? Well, could it have something to do with the fact that the PCF doubled their income from donations from $64,250 (see note (1) on that) to $125,000…but managed not to list any salary or benefits for any of the lead officials (read, Shelley and Garret Lubben)??? I wish we could tell..but the 2009 return refers inquiring minds to attachments that are invisible to the naked eyes, or at least those eyes listing the return.
4) The 2008 return is signed. The 2009 statement is not, neither by BMS or by Garret. Why?? Unless, as Doug says outright in Part 2, the 2009 “statement” was really a ruse to call off the dogs.
5) The mission statement on the returns lists their “humanitarian” goals of assisting sex workers to quit porn and to educate people on the “facts” about porn. That’s a bit different from the actual mission statement that is published on the PCF website which states (emphasis added by me):
Pink Cross Foundation, a humanitarian outreach and international movement will respond to needs of people who are victims of pornography. Our mission is to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. We also combat community deterioration due to pornography and prostitution through attempts to educate legislation in order to enforce health and safety laws within the pornography industry, to protect adult industry workers from sexually transmitted diseases and other job-related abuses, to ameliorate the secondary negative effects of pornography on the general public and to toughen laws to protect children from accessing online pornography. This ministry is motivated by the amazing love of God.
Gee….now I wonder why all that religious pontification didn’t make it to the mission statement they gave to the IRS?? Would it be something having to do with the laws of church-state seperation, or the non-political/non-religious motives required for charitable orgs to keep their tax-exempt status?? And I thought that charitable orgs weren’t supposed to be able to lobby, either?? So, what was Shelley’s crying jag in front of the dining Congressmen during Pat Trueman’s “Pornography Harms” luncheon gabfest….old time witnessing?? Sheeee-utz, not even Gail Dines pimped for tax exempt status for her antiporn efforts.
6) Then, there is the case of the disappearing “salaries”: $49,336 in salaries claimed on the 2009 return, but with no mention (other than references to the invisible “attachments”) of names or any details of any person claiming to recieve such salaries. Never mind that Garret is still listed as “Treasurer”. Never mind that Shelley still owns the domain names of “thepinkcross[dot]org” and “thepinkcross[dot]net” (and in fact, the latter domain still redirects directly to Shelley’s personal home website, “shelleylubben[dot]com”). And, also never mind that even within the Pink Cross Foundation site there is linkage aplenty to Lubben’s home site…so much so that the two can be seen as interlaced tighter than one of “Roxy’s” former gangbang scenes. Either Doug is right and this form is more bogus than a 6 dollar bill and designed to fool the prospective donors just as she grifts off the performers she “saves”…or she must have someone at the IRS by the nads, so to speak, in order to get her exemption from paying taxes on her “foundation”.
Oh, but there is so, so, so much more chicanery to be found there…you’ll just have to watch the video in its entirity to bask in the beauty of this scam.
Which leads me to my final riddle on this: Why does Shelley Lubben get the funds, but someone like Monica Foster (an actual working performer who actually gives a damn about real women performers) can’t even buy herself that kind of aid?? Oh, I forgot…Monica actually walks the talk…and she’s Black, too. Wrong complexion for the connection, I guess.
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