Responding to a lawsuit accusing Dallas-based Gateway Church of financial fraud, Gateway Elder Tra Willbanks assured congregants over the weekend that the church has “independently audited financial statements since 2005.”

He added, “These audits have demonstrated that our finances are managed consistent with best practices, and we have never had any wrongdoing revealed through these audits.”

The firm conducting the audits is Capin Crouse, a nationally recognized auditing firm for nonprofit organizations, Willbanks said.

However, a “seasoned CPA,” mentioned as a whistleblower in the lawsuit filed Friday against Gateway, told The Roys Report (TRR) that Gateway did not conduct any audits during his time on staff, from 2011-2014. Instead, Gateway conducted financial reviews, which “are not designed to detect errors or fraud.”

He also noted that Gateway’s Global Ministries, where the alleged fraud claimed in the lawsuit occurred, was outside the scope of reviews during his tenure.

That CPA is former Gateway Executive Pastor of Global Ministries Allen Shoulders, who also is a retired former partner at a Big 4 accounting firm. Shoulders has released a statement exclusively to The Roys Report (TRR) and has spoken with us exclusively, as well.

TRR is waiting to release most of Shoulders’ statement and interview to allow Gateway more time to respond to specific allegations contained in them. However, we are releasing a portion of the statement and interview today because it...

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