Those Top-Secret Phone Card Phone Records

Danny Cites Phone Card Phone Records

One issue that keeps popping up throughout 3ABN president Danny Shelton's correspondence regarding Linda Shelton's alleged affair with Dr. Arild Abrahamsen is the allegedly inordinate amount of time they spent on the telephone. And crucial to Danny's case are the alleged phone card phone records that document all these calls. But do these phone card phone records really exist? And if so, were they obtained illegally?

First of all, let's look at one of a number of emails written by Danny Shelton that refer to these phone card phone records:

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Danny Shelton To:  [Arild Abrahamsen] Date:  Wed, 21 Apr 2004 08:21:02 -0500 Doctor, ... 2. ... She has told me how you think I'm out to lunch and that I'm physcotic and all of these things. ... 5. I want to hear you justify the dozens of hours you have talked to her on the phone, some conversations of up to 4 hours and 9 minutes, according to the phone records. Please convince us they were about Nathan. The problem is, my wife admitted to the neutral marriage counselors, that she chose, that you and she talked negative about me on a number of occasions, and that you have convinced her I'm out to lunch. her negative counselors told her to drop all relationship with you because you could bring no good into her life, only destruction. 6. You must think I'm stupid, I have a record of every phone call between you and she up to this day. Even though she started using phone cards, which you probably suggested, I still can monitor every number and for how long the conversation is. I also can monitor every phone call that has come in to you and all those going out. She knows this now I just told her yesterday. I was waiting to give you doctor, as they say in America, "enough rope to hang yourself". and you've done just that. 7. Yes, I not only look forward to meeting you hear in America with our board chairman and our attorney and conference President who is also on our board, but I intend to meet with or without you in Norway, with your conference officials also. 8. You should have stopped all of this a long time ago. Of course you still maintain you have done nothing wrong. My wife says you tell her that your just trying to help her and the ministry! Well, we'll see, what these other folk think about all of your "help". ...

It is quite clear from the above that the real issue was not the frequency and duration of all those phone calls, but the content of those calls. Danny was extremely perturbed that Dr. Abrahamsen had allegedly discussed his mental stability. In fact, he was hopping mad about it.

As far as that 4 hour and 9 minute phone call is concerned, current AT&T prepaid phone card rates for calls to Norway run from 7 to 20 "minutes" per minute of talk time, depending on whether one is calling a land line or a cell phone. Thus a phone call that costs 249 minutes actually lasted but 12.5 to 35.5 minutes, assuming that there were no additional surcharges.

AT&T Prepaid Phone Cards;
Dozens of Recorded Phone Conversations

Here is a second, earlier email that also refers to phone card phone records. But this one adds the detail that the phone cards were AT&T brand cards, and it also refers to "dozens of recorded phone conversations," the making of which would constitute a felony under the laws of the State of Illinois.

Notice Danny's interesting requests not to ignore him and to apologize to him. We therefore have reason to expect Danny Shelton to be prompt in his replies and to be eager to apologize whenever necessary, and are puzzled that this has not been the case.

-------- Original Message -------- From:  Linda Shelton Organization:  Three Angels Broadcasting Network To:  Arild Abrahamsen Date:  Thu, 25 Mar 2004 20:17:39 -0600 I was thinking about our conversation on the phone when you said you were not emotionally or otherwise involved with my wife, that you had not crossed any professional or Christan lines. Well all of that has been proven a lie. She has confessed everything all the lies, all the phone calls, some for over FOUR HOURS AND NINE MINUTES at a time. At other times you talked to my wife, March 15, for example for 59 minutes, then another conversation for 75 minutes, then another for 13 minutes, plus that same day you called her from your phone at least once that I know of and talked between 30 minutes and an hour. All in one day! And you maintain that were did not cross a line with her. The eye of flesh got in the way. She's young ,beautiful, and intelligent, and a television personality. You used her son to get to her. The devil decieved you both. Sabbath March 13th, when she was at Brendas house you talked for 4 hrs and nine minutes according to ATT prepaid phone card records! And you still have the nerve to lie about your involvement with my wife? Those dozens of recorded phone conversations were not about her son or the high and lofty spiritual things that you both lied about but now at least is admitted by my wife. During those conversations you tried to get her to say she was afraid of me. Now I know why. ... Brenda told me that you wanted her to promise that if I ever abused her, that she would let you know. ... You had planted those seeds in her, as she has never even mentioned the word abuse until the last few weeks, when she would contend that she was now being mentally abused. ... ... I expect a confession and apology on your part or am praying about contacting your Division, Union, and local conferences, to inform them as what you almost accomplished. ... Please ask God to forgive you and then apologize to me as the bible would have you to do. I'm using Matt. 18 to resolve this. I first went to you by phone, and then by email. ... You can't ignore me. I first contacted you, to know avail, next I contacted pastor John, to no resolve and if you don't answer me now then according to the bible I should contact the church. So if you pretend that you didn't get this email, the next you hear from me could be your local church. ... You can contact me with a written apology if you choose to resolve it this way at ******@******

So that 4 hour 9 minute phone call was made from Brenda's house? Really? How could Linda have ever made a phone call lasting that long from Brenda's house? Is Danny in the above message giving us evidence that that phone call really lasted but 12.5 to 35.5 minutes?

Then we have Danny listing above three other phone card phone calls:

• 13 Minutes: A phone conversation that lasted perhaps 40 seconds to 2 minutes.
• 59 Minutes: A phone conversation that lasted perhaps 3 to 8.5 minutes.
• 75 Minutes: A phone conversation that lasted perhaps 3.75 to 10.7 minutes.

Pastor John Lomacang Says, "I Saw Them"

By August 24, 2006, Pastor Lomacang had invited anyone who had questions to call him and ask them. That invitation resulted in a phone conversation on September 1 in which he claimed to have personally seen phone card phone records amounting to hundreds of hours of phone calls between Linda Shelton and Dr. Arild Abrahamsen, calls made prior to March 9, 2004, the date he first became involved in the matter.

Pastor Lomacang promised that whoever wanted to could come to 3ABN and see these phone card phone records. He claimed that that wasn't his decision, indicating that either the board or management had decided to do that.

So based on Pastor Lomacang's testimony:

• There are phone card phone records amounting to hundreds of hours of phone calls between Linda and Dr. Abrahamsen.
• Pastor Lomacang had personally seen these phone records, and he indicated that those calls had been made prior to March 9, 2004.
• Anyone who wants to can see these phone records if they simply come by 3ABN.

AT&T's Phone Card Policies

AT&T has informed us of the following policies:

• They do not give out written records of phone cards without a subpoena.
• They do not give out call-from or call-to numbers without a subpoena. (Only area codes or country codes are given without a subpoena.)
• Verbal records can only be given out to those possessing the card and the PIN number.

We are therefore perplexed to know how John could have seen these phone card phone records when AT&T does not give out written records. Was John lying, or were the phone card phone records illegally obtained?

Additionally, we cannot figure out how Danny knew that Linda had called Dr. Abrahamsen instead of Pastor or Mrs. Johann Thorvaldsson, or some other Norwegian friend. Without the called-to number there would not be any way to know for sure who Linda called.

AT&T Current Prepaid Phone Card Rates

As already mentioned, current AT&T prepaid phone card rates for calls to Norway are 7 to 20 "minutes" per minute of actual talk time, depending on whether one is calling a land line or a cell phone. And that doesn't include surcharges.

John Lomacang claimed that the phone card phone records detailed hundreds of hours of phone calls, calls he stated were made prior to March 9, 2004. "Hundreds of hours" would at the very least amount to 200 hours.

Were these 200 hours in fact only 10 to 28.6 hours (200/20 to 200/7), or were they in fact 200 actual hours of phone calls?

The Largest AT&T Prepaid Phone Card

The largest phone card denomination that Wal-Mart currently sells is a 1000-minute card.

200 actual hours of phone calls to Norway are the equivalent of 12,000 actual minutes. Now using our current rate figures of 7 to 20 billed "minutes" per actual minute of talk time, we end up with 84,000 to 240,000 prepaid phone card billed "minutes."

Thus, in order for John Lomacang's figure of hundreds of hours to be correct, Linda would have had to have used the equivalent of 84 to 240 AT&T 1000-minute prepaid phone cards.

Something just doesn't add up.

Anyone Can See These Phone Card Phone Records

Don't count on it.

Read one person's account of his failed attempts to take John Lomacang up on his offer, and how John broke his promise.