In 1984,Sun Myung Moon, the founder and leader of theUnification Church, was charged with willfully filing false federalincome tax returns andconspiracy. Church members and supporters stated that the prosecution was politically motivated, discriminatory, and unfair.
Moon served 13 months of a 18-month sentence in federal prison in theUnited States after being found guilty by a jury.
On October 15, 1981,[1] Moon was indicted by afederal grand jury and charged with three counts of willfully filing false federal income tax returns (for the years 1973, 1974, and 1975) under26 U.S.C. § 7206, and one count of conspiracy—under18 U.S.C. § 371—to file false income tax returns, to obstruct justice, to make false statements to government officials, and to make false statements to a grand jury. The prosecutors charged that Moon failed to declare as income (and pay taxes on) $112,000 in earned interest in a Chase Manhattan bank account, and on the receipt of $50,000 of corporate stock. The essence of the prosecution's case was that both the money and stock were his personal property. The defense maintained that these were rather being held on behalf of the fledgling church, which had not yet incorporated. Moon transferred the bulk of the Chase account funds to the fledgling church upon its incorporation. He did not declare this transfer as a deduction on his income tax.
Holding church funds in a minister's name is fairly common, particularly in small churches, and some church-related or other organizations filedamicus curiae briefs in the case, including the Center for Law and Religious Freedom, theAmerican Civil Liberties Union, the New York Civil Liberties Union, American Baptist Churches in the USA,[2] theNational Council of Churches, theNational Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference, theNational Conference of Black Mayors, and theNational Bar Association.[3]
The court denied Moon's request to have abench trial.[4] In 1982 he was convicted on all counts and the convictions were upheld on appeal.[5] Moon was represented in his appeal byLaurence Tribe, noted constitutional lawyer and law professor.[6]
Moon was given an 18-month sentence and a $15,000 fine. He served 13 months of the sentence at theFederal Correctional Institution, Danbury and because of good behavior was released to ahalfway house before returning home. While serving his sentence he worked in the prison kitchen.[7]
Takeru Kamiyama, Moon's aide and codefendant in the trial, was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury and was sentenced to six months imprisonment which he served at Danbury along with Moon.[8]
Kenneth Briggs, former religion editor of theNew York Times, wrote:
While Moon was in prison, members of theUnification Church of the United States launched a public-relations campaign. Booklets, letters and videotapes were mailed to approximately 300,000 Christian leaders in the United States. Many signed petitions protesting the government's case.[10] Among the American Christian leaders who spoke out in defense of Moon were conservativeJerry Falwell, head ofMoral Majority, and liberalJoseph Lowery, head of theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference.[11] Among the other people who protested the government's prosecution of Moon wereHarvey Cox, a Professor of Divinity atHarvard andEugene McCarthy, United States Senator and former Democratic Party presidential candidate.[12]
Supporters regard the tax case as politically motivated. The prosecutors offered to drop the case in return for Moon surrendering hisgreen card, which he chose not to do.[citation needed]
AUnited States Senate subcommittee, chaired by SenatorOrrin Hatch, conducted its own investigation into Moon's tax case and published its findings in a report which concluded:
Jeremiah S. Gutman, president of the New York Civil Liberties Union, called the prosecution "an indefensible intrusion in private religious affairs."[15] TheNew York Times and theWashington Post, which had both been critical of Moon, expressed concern about the government's prosecution of him and the consequences it might have for other religious groups.[16]
Michael Tori, a professor atMarist College (Poughkeepsie, New York) suggested that Moon's conviction helped the Unification Church gain more acceptance in mainstream American society, since it showed that he was financially accountable to the government and the public.[17]
In 1991 Pulitzer-prize winning reporterCarlton Sherwood wrote a book in Moon's defense,Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Sherwood mentions opposition to Moon by the news media, majorChristian denominations, and members of the government including RepresentativeDonald Fraser and SenatorBob Dole. Sherwood characterizes this opposition as unfair, dishonest, and mean-spirited. He concludes that the federal prosecution of Moon on tax charges was unjust, citing the court's refusal to allow Moon's fellow defendant Takeru Kamiyama to provide his own translator, its refusal to allow the two men a bench trial rather than a jury trial, possible tainting of the jury, and the unusual length of Moon's sentence, 18 months, for a tax case. He also mentions that Moon could have avoided the trial if he had remained outside of the United States.[18][19]
Sherwood sums up his views by writing:
The Unification Church, its leaders and followers were and continue to be the victims of the worst kind of religious prejudice and racial bigotry this country has witnessed in over a century. Moreover, virtually every institution we as Americans hold sacred the Congress, the courts, law enforcement agencies, the press, even the US Constitution itself was prostituted in a malicious, oftentimes brutal manner, as part of a determined effort to wipe out this small but expanding religious movement.[18][19][20][21]