Mary Manin Morrissey - Financial Scandal

Financial Scandal

In early 2004, Mary Morrissey was sued by members of her congregation for unpaid loans. It was reported that the loans were often made personally to Morrissey, and that the personal finances of herself, her husband, Edward Morrissey, and Living Enrichment Center had not been treated separately. In an e-mail to Willamette Week, Steve Unger, Morrissey's attorney, wrote that the Morrisseys had committed commingling, and that "the finances of LEC, New Thought Broadcasting, Mary Morrissey and Ed Morrissey were treated not separately, but as a kind of 'financial family.'" By the summer of 2004, the sum total of the debt was reported by Willamette Week and The Oregonian as totaling more than $20 million. Throughout the month of June, Mary Morrissey and Harry Morgan Moses conducted a series of talks called "Standing Firm While Your World is Shaking", for a "love offering" of $15 per class or $100 for the series. On July 14, 2004, Living Enrichment Center held "Calling Forth a Miracle: A Benefit for Living Enrichment Center with Very Special Guests" and declared 2004–2005 as "The Year of the Miracle".

On April 17, 2005, Jeff Manning of The Oregonian wrote, "Edward Morrissey, husband of embattled former church pastor Mary Manin Morrissey, admitted in federal court Wednesday that he defrauded members of his wife's church in soliciting $10.7 million in loans. He pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, a felony that could get him 36 months or more in federal prison.... Edward Morrissey's plea will probably not put to rest lingering questions over the deal that the Morrisseys cut with federal and state officials. Some former Living Enrichment parishioners were angered that Mary Morrissey eluded federal charges. Mary Morrissey leaned hard on parishioners to make the loans, some said, but she has claimed she had no knowledge of her husband's use of that money.... Mary Morrissey agreed to contribute 25 percent of her disposable income to retiring the debt until parishioners are fully repaid or for the next 20 years, whichever comes first."

On April 6, 2005, Bend.com reported that a settlement deal between the Morrisseys and the Department of Consumer and Business Services had been reached: "As part of this settlement, neither of the Morrisseys may offer or sell securities. Further, Edward Morrissey agreed to plead guilty to a single federal count of money laundering. The plea agreement reached between Edward Morrissey and the U.S. Attorney's Office calls for the government to recommend a 36-month sentence, but that recommendation is not binding on the court."

After a year in prison at Terminal Island, in August 2006, Edward Morrissey was transferred to a Seattle, Washington halfway house. Morrissey was released from the halfway house on February 2, 2007. In the August 28, 2006 edition of Wilsonville Spokesman, editor Curt Kipp wrote that Mary Morrissey has repaid $24,000 of the debt.

In a letter to Willamette Week in 2004, the lawyer for Mary Morrissey's then-husband, Edward Morrissey, admitted that the couple had committed commingling. Mary Manin Morrissey's second ex-husband, Edward Morrissey, pleaded guilty to money laundering and using church money for the personal expenses of himself and his wife, and spent time in federal prison. The Seattle Times reports that the Morrisseys committed "financial improprieties" and that some former members of Living Enrichment Center were upset with the deal the Morrisseys struck with federal prosecutors. Former congregant John Trudel of Newberg, Oregon is reported to have loaned the church $100,000 between 2000 and 2002. Trudel is quoted as saying that church money was being diverted. Willamette Week wrote that Steve Unger, lawyer for the Morrisseys, admitted that the couple had committed commingling. The Oregonian writes that Mary Morrissey signed a consent agreement with state securities regulators, agreeing to repay $10.7 million to her former congregation, but she is in default and that at the rate Mary Morrissey is making repayment it will take her 300 years to repay congregation debt in full. KATU writes that the debt may never be repaid. Wilsonville Spokesman has reported that the amount of money Mary Morrissey has repaid would amount to less than half a penny per dollar of debt.

KATU reported that Edward Morrissey agreed to plead guilty to money laundering on the condition that Mary Manin Morrissey not be charged with a crime. The Oregonian wrote in 2009 that Mary Morrissey signed a consent agreement agreeing to repay the debt, but that she is in default of the consent agreement.