Federal prosecutors have asked a judge in Arkansas to order the seizure of several buildings from convicted cult leader Tony Alamo.
Alamo, who bills himself as an ‘evangelist,’ is serving a 175-year prison sentence for taking girls as young as nine across state lines to have sex with them.
Along with the prison sentence, Alamo was also fined $250,000 and ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution to each of his accusers, whom he had referred to as ‘wives.’
Additional properties to be seized
Attorneys for two other former members, Seth Calagna and Spencer Ondirsek, were already seeking the seizure of five other ministry buildings and a parking lot in order to satisfy a $30 million judgment against Alamo.
The two men had sued the cult leader for ordering his enforcer, John Erwin Kolbeck, to beat them.
In 2009 they were each were awarded $1.5 million from Kolbeck after he failed to respond to their lawsuit. However, Kolbeck died in January, 2011, of a heart attack while on the run from law enforcement.
Last week the attorneys for Calagna and Ondirsek added 12 more properties to the list of assets they seek to auction off.
A stepdaughter of Alamo says she has a $500,000 claim against the properties in that judgement.
Tony Alamo Ministries: cult and hate group
Meanwhile two dozen cult members still loyal to Alamo claim they are co-owners of some of the properties marked for seizure.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a human rights organization that tracks hate groups and their activities, characterizes Alamo Ministries as a hate group.
Apologetics Index, which publishes Religion News Blog, considers the group to be a cult — both sociologically and theologically. Theologically it is a cult of Christianity.