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Jewish group sues area evangelist
$9 million suit says K.A. Paul’s aid agency violated a contract to fly members to Israel
Huffman evangelist K.A. Paul, who recently headed a controversial mission to help tsunami victims, is being sued for more than $9 million by a Jewish group in Los Angeles.
The lawsuit alleges that Paul’s Global Peace Initiative, a humanitarian aid organization, had agreed to fly the group to Poland for the 60th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation, then to Tel Aviv for vacation. But when the 92 travelers, members of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on June 18, the lawsuit contends, Global Peace Initiative officials advised them they could either remain in Poland, fly to Syria or cancel the trip.
Faced with such “unrealistic and unreasonable alternatives,” the lawsuit said, the travelers opted to stay at home.
Money said to be misused
Their lawsuit alleges “the defendants intended to use the plaintiff’s money to repair and refurbish their aircraft so as to carry out their so-called peace mission to such hostile countries as Syria, Libya, Iran and Sudan and find some pretext to cause plaintiff to cancel its trip.”
In addition to Paul and Global Peace Initiative, defendants named in the lawsuit, which was filed June 23 in Los Angeles Superior Court, include Dennis Ryan, David McQuade, Doug Dodson and Gospel for the Unreached Millions Inc.
Ryan, a member of the Global Peace Initiative board, said Paul is out of the country and unavailable for comment.
“I haven’t been notified by the court, by them or anyone,” Ryan said Wednesday. “I don’t know anything about this.”
The lawsuit alleges that Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, a group that raises money to provide recreational amenities for Israeli military personnel, had paid Paul’s organization $800,000 for transportation on its Boeing 747. A final $50,000 was to be paid after departure.
“Defendants have refused to refund any of the $800,000,” the lawsuit says, “or even communicate with the plaintiff at this point.”
The aircraft was to fly from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., where it would pick up additional passengers, then continue to Poland.
Bob Liston, a flight attendant on the Global Peace Initiative plane who is not connected with the lawsuit, told the Houston Chronicle the aircraft eventually flew to Syria and Libya, where Paul met with government leaders, then continued to India.
Jet’s fitness questioned
The lawsuit contends that Global Peace Initiative agreed to provide the travelers a safe and airworthy aircraft, staffed by an experienced pilot and flight crew and would competently perform flight operations including acquiring overflight rights and landing rights.
In reality, the lawsuit says, the plane did not pass a comprehensive FAA-mandated testing of the plane’s systems and required issuance of an FAA waiver hours before the flight.
“Plaintiff is informed and believes that there was insufficient time to install all missing parts and/or check that they had been properly installed as the plane had been delayed too long already,” the lawsuit charges.
In addition, it contends the plane had an oxygen line leak that could have been fatal, was not equipped with pilot information including flight, operational or performance manuals and wasn’t fully fueled for its flight to Newark.
“GPI,” the lawsuit says, “failed to pay fees due EuroControl and further failed to obtain war risk insurance, making the plane subject to seizure in Poland. (It) did not file a timely flight plan, making clearance in Poland and/or Israel virtually impossible. (It) couldn’t or wouldn’t pay for fuel and ground handling operations at LAX.”
The India-born Paul, 41, “a Hindu-born follower of Jesus,” is known for his aggressive fund raising for religious and humanitarian projects. Though such business luminaries as American Financial Group CEO Carl Lindner III and Dallas’ Nelson Bunker Hunt have vouched for his activities, others have found his frenetic style off-putting.
Dust-up with McIngvale
Earlier this year, Paul made headlines in a dust-up with Houston furniture magnate Jim McIngvale, owner of Gallery Furniture, about a $200,000 donation to a mission to tsunami-devastated Asia.
The exchange started when Paul announced he had raised only $215,000 of the $400,000 needed for the trip, and noted that McIngvale was “praying” about making up the difference.
“I didn’t like his bull’s-rush approach,” McIngvale said at the time of his decision not to contribute.
McIngvale earlier supported a tsunami relief mission led by former Presidents Bush and Clinton, contributing $250,000 to the effort.
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