SALT LAKE CITY – A local nonprofit with ties to the polygamous Kingston group faces numerous questions and allegations regarding its taxes.
FOX 13 spoke to the man who filed the IRS complaint against the Ensign Learning Center, a private elementary school that members of the Kingston group send their children to.
“The Ensign Learning Center (ELC) has not declared a fortune of nearly 12 million US dollars,” the tipster wrote in his complaint. “Directors / officers / individuals use income / assets for personal gain … The organization carries on a commercial, for-profit business … The organization has not properly reported employment, income, or excise duty.”
The complainant asked not to be identified and referred to FOX 13 as an interested third party with no ties to the Kingston family.
The organization did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Although the school is private, the tax records for the Ensign Learning Center are public due to its status as a 501c3 organization.
In recent years, members of the Kingston family have pleaded guilty to dozens of charges, including fraud, money laundering and disability, due to their roles in the Washakie Renewable Energy program.
The Ensign Learning Center was not linked to the Washakie program.
Amanda Rae, who appeared on the television program Escaping Polygamy, said she “left the Order” after graduating from the Ensign Learning Center to avoid marrying her cousin.
“All the teachers there are members of the Order,” said Rae. “I just knew we had to keep polygamy a secret … If you grew up in it, it seems so normal because you don’t know anything else.”
“The Order” is another name for the Kingston group.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the Kingston group a hate group.
“If an outsider asks an Order member about their religion, one should never talk about the Order,” Rae said. “The laws do not matter whether it is God’s kingdom on earth.”
According to ownership records, the Ensign Learning Center owns the school buildings for both the Ensign Learning Center and the Vanguard Academy, a public charter school.
The nonprofit also owns 11 homes in Salt Lake County.
According to the complainant, the Ensign Learning Center does not report the houses about their taxes.
“None of these assets are required to run a private school,” wrote the tipster.
FOX 13 has learned that each of the tenants is a member of the Kingston family.
When asked to comment, none of the tenants were particularly open about why their home belongs to a school.
“I want to speak to the owner of the house,” FOX 13 investigative reporter Adam Herbets said of a woman living in Taylorsville.
“I am,” replied the woman.
“OK. My name is Adam. I’m on FOX 13 with the news,” Herbets said. “Do you work for the Ensign Learning Center?”
“Oh. I’m not the owner of the house.” The woman replied. “We are sorry.”
When the tenant learned that someone had filed a complaint against the Ensign Learning Center she was involved in at home, he responded indifferently.
“In order to?” She said. “I do not know anything. I do not know anything! I do not care! I won’t talk anyway. “
Only one tenant identified herself as a teacher at the Ensign Learning Center.
“I’m sure you wouldn’t cheat on your taxes,” said the woman.
“I think they know they have to be careful what they say to someone with a camera,” explained Rae. “I think a lot of them are innocent. I really do. “
At first she claimed to be the owner of the house. Then she changed her mind.
When I told her that someone had filed an IRS complaint about her home, she responded indifferently. pic.twitter.com/eSaatqq2XY
– Adam Herbets (@AdamHerbets) January 14, 2021
Rae’s mother lives in one of the houses in the Ensign Learning Center.
“Yes, my mother is a member. She is the second of three women, ”said Rae. “My relationship with my mom is very – it’s a little confusing – but at the end of the day I love her and I will always want to be there for her. I think she deserves so much better than the life she was given and the cards she was dealt in this life. “
According to Rae, her mother originally owned her home before joining the Order and signing it to the Ensign Learning Center.
When asked for comment, Rae’s mother said she “knows nothing” and that “there is no one here associated with Ensign”.
“From day one, they teach you the importance of consecration, that whatever you have, all of your inputs and outputs must be in the name of the Lord,” Rae explained.
FOX 13 consulted with several non-profit experts to analyze the Ensign Learning Center’s public tax documents.
Brian Mittendorf, professor of accounting at Ohio State University, said the organization lacks transparency and detail in its tax returns.
“We like to think that financial reports really tell a story about how an organization works and what priorities it has. Why isn’t there more information there? “Asked Mittendorf. “A lack of transparency is not necessarily in and of itself an indication that something is wrong. It would be worrying if they were to use (charitable status) for their own benefit.”
Mittendorf said the documentation from the organization “Bare Bones” made it difficult to say whether the school was meeting its tax obligations.
“While they can technically own residential real estate, the question would be why?” Mittendorf said. “There are a number of unanswered questions that (Form 990) could have answered, but not … If the 990 does not provide this information, it is reasonable to ask these questions.”
Sam Brunson, a professor of tax law at Loyola University in Chicago, said he saw “significant red flags” while reviewing the organization’s tax records.
“It is definitely possible to use nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations to avoid taxes,” said Brunson. “One of the great things you can do is be pretty relaxed about who owns what.”
Brunson agreed that the Ensign Learning Center’s tax returns do not contain enough information to determine whether the tipster’s allegations are valid, but he believes there is enough information for the IRS to open a formal investigation.
“We don’t want people to privately benefit from tax-free organizations,” said Brunson. “You wouldn’t take my advice, but as an academic, I’d love more transparency.”
If the IRS determines that there has been a violation, possible penalties can range from a fine to criminal charges.
“Ultimately, the Order is just business,” said Rae. “It chases after people like my mother.”