Benny and Suzanne Hinn divorce: What will the forensic accountant be looking for?
In a divorce petition filed in Florida last month, televangelist Benny Hinn's wife, Suzanne Hinn, said their marriage is "irretrievably broken."
Suzanne requested spousal support and asked the court to "Require the Husband to contribute to the Wife's attorney's fees and costs, including forensic accountant fees, both temporarily and permanently …"
Because Florida is a no-fault divorce state, the forensic accountant would not be looking for financial fraud or other financial crimes.
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The divorce petition provides a clue for what a forensic accountant would examine:
"Determine if the Husband has transferred away or disposed of assets within the two (2) year period prior to the filing of this case or during the pendency of this case and, if so, make appropriate adjustments in the equitable distribution scheme."
The forensic accountant should start by identifying bank accounts and assets owned by the World Healing Center Church and consulting companies such as Family Altar of the Air and eMinistries Consulting, Inc., which are run by Benny's top confederate Donald B. Price.
Bank accounts might have been opened using trade names registered to each legal entity.
World Healing Center Church has registered one active trade name in Texas: Benny Hinn Ministries.
Family Altar of the Air has four active trade names in Texas: Iglesia Centro de Sanidad Mundial, Fe y Familia Centro Cristiano Internacional, Grapevine Next Level Church and Next Level Dallas (which appears to have rebranded as Next Level Revival and may no longer be related to Family Altar of the Air).
Price has collected consulting fees from Family Altar of the Air and acquires real estate through the nonprofit organization.
In 2023, Family Altar of the Air purchased a home worth about $2.8 million in Frisco, Texas, even though Price already owns a home in Plano, Texas, and Family Altar of the Air owns an additional 14,500-square-foot home in Plano worth about $7.5 million.
Does Hinn have an ownership stake in the Frisco property? Where does Hinn stay in Texas when he visits the ministry headquarters?
Since the 1990s, and possibly since its inception, Benny Hinn Ministries has never filed a Form 990, which would disclose his compensation and a breakdown of ministry expenses to donors.
For at least 20 years, Benny Hinn has been paid consulting fees and a salary from World Healing Center Church/Benny Hinn Ministries.
In 2004, while dumpster diving, Trinity Foundation investigator Pete Evans obtained a document reporting that Benny was paid $30,000 a month for consulting work through Clarion Call Marketing, Inc.
In February 2005, Trinity Foundation investigators found another document in the trash disclosing Benny's salary from World Healing Center Church to be $1,325,000. Suzanne Hinn received a salary of $165,000. Hinn's daughter, Jessica, and husband, Michael Koulianos, were also on the organization's payroll for $155,000, bringing the family's compensation to over $2 million, including consulting fees.
eMinistries Consulting appears to own the intellectual property of the ministry. Bookmark Publishing, a trade name registered to eMinistries Consulting, is listed as the copyright holder on the bennyhinn.org website.
Other trade names registered to eMinistries Consulting include The Benny Hinn Foundation, BH Global, Vicarage Holdings, Cal-Tex Acquisition IV, Cal-Tex Acquisition V, and Dominion Land Trust.
Cal-Tex Acquisition V is the registered owner of the office building in Grapevine, Texas, serving as the headquarters of Benny Hinn Ministries. Dominion Land Trust owns the Dana Point, California, beach house where Benny resides when in California.
There are unanswered questions regarding the ownership of the California beach house. Does Price function as a dummy director for eMinistries Consulting and Dominion Land Trust? Does Price have a partial ownership stake or is it entirely owned by Benny?
In addition to the trade name Vicarage Holdings, there is a separate company named Vicarage Holdings, LLC, which was formed in 2020 and might also hold ministry-related assets.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hinn created Compassion for the Hungry in 2020 and served on the organization's board. The nonprofit corporation is no longer active. The Texas Secretary of State published a tax forfeiture notice for the organization in 2023.
Cost of divorce
Throughout his career, Benny has preached that a wealth transfer is coming to Christians around the world.
For example, in a December 2023 video, Benny Hinn told his viewers, "I'm going to ask you to give. Be faithful to the Lord because before the coming of the Lord, we're going to see an amazing wealth transfer."
This idea of a wealth transfer is based on a misunderstanding of Proverbs 13:22, which says, "A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous."
Originally published at Trinity Foundation
