wfn.org | New Era Foundation for Philanthropy

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3526 notes).

Note 3523 by UMNS on March 31, 1997 at 16:32 Eastern (2025 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                             169(10-71B){3523}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470            March 31, 1997

New Era founder pleads no contest
to defrauding nonprofit groups

                 by United Methodist News Service

     The creator of a foundation that proved to be an investment
swindle involving charities and nonprofit groups has pleaded "no
contest" to charges that he defrauded nonprofit groups of more
than $130 million.
     John G. Bennett Jr, 59, the founder of the bankrupt
Foundation for New Era Philanthropy, entered his plea March 25 in
federal court to an 82-count indictment. He had previously plead
not guilty to the charges that include money laundering and wire,
mail and bank fraud. 
     According to Religion News Service, Bennett's no-contest plea
is equivalent to a guilty plea or conviction. He is scheduled to
be sentenced June 26 and federal sentencing guidelines would send
Bennett to prison for 22 to 27 years.
     The Foundation for New Era Philanthropy, which obtained
investments from schools, colleges and nonprofit institutions, was
charged by federal investigators with running a Ponzi scheme -- a
swindle that pays off early investors with money from later
investors. When the foundation went bankrupt in 1995, investors
lost approximately $135 million.
     United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, which lost $1.75
million, other evangelical groups and creditors financially
affected by the New Era debacle, are in the process of reclaiming
settlements from lawsuits reached last year. One settlement allows
the organizations that lost money to receive as much as 65 cents
on every dollar invested. Much of that money was to come from
agencies and groups that profited from their New Era investments. 
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