Danny Shelton's Book Deals

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"Probably Several Hundred Thousand Dollars"

In the early days of the present 3ABN crisis, a former 3ABNer commented on 3ABN president Danny Shelton's book deals and their significance:

-------- Original Message -------- From:  ****** To:  G. Arthur Joy Subject:  RE: MAP Date:  Tue, 19 Sep 2006 17:02:39 -0700 Hello Gailon, ... I have wondered about the numbers. When I spoke with Danny about a month or so ago, he insisted that numbers were up by a couple of million. But when I spoke with a board member he indicated that the finances were not doing well, in part relating to a tremendous amount of money 3ABN put into the "Ten Commandments Twice Removed Book" which was distributed by the millions during the spring. I am quite certain that Danny received royalties on this, probably to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars, although he is refusing to disclose the amount to his own board members. This is a gross conflict of interest and also an improper personal inurement that could cause the ministry to lose its tax exempt status if it came to light. ... ...

Danny Appears to Confirm the Problem

One concerned individual, after hearing that Danny was not disclosing these profits in order to avoid having to share them with his ex-wife in their marital property settlement, wrote to him directly. Danny made it quite clear that he was indeed keeping these profits a secret during the marital property distribution proceedings. But why would he do that, unless he really had made a hefty profit?

The July 13, 2006, Financial Affidavit

The accounting of 3ABN appears to be off limits to nearly everyone. That is unfortunate, for it makes it extremely difficult to demonstrate that various allegations of financial improprieties are simply untrue. Yet the Financial Affidavit is one piece of financial information that is fairly accessible, having been filed at the Franklin County Circuit Court in July 2006. What follows are questions raised by that affidavit.

Not Much Money in the Bank?

Danny lists only two bank accounts in the affidavit, one containing $1,500 and the other containing $1,000. Since around 4.5 million copies of his book, Ten Commandments Twice Removed, were distributed in the spring of 2006, and since Danny's personal responses suggest that he did make a lot of money on those sales, why does he list only $2,500 in those two bank accounts?

On the Other Hand ...

The amount declared in the affidavit for charitable contributions, $500, suggests that there couldn't have been any royalty payments at all. The declared gross monthly income is $5,991, and the charitable contributions are but 8.35% of this total.

After subtracting the taxes that got withheld, but before figuring in what the tax refund might be, the declared net monthly income is $4,323. Thus the charitable contributions would amount to 11.57% of this figure. Given the Seventh-day Adventist teaching on tithes and offerings, it seems impossible that $500 in contributions could represent tithe and offerings on both Danny's salary from 3ABN and hundreds of thousands of dollars of alleged profits from book deals.

The declared gross monthly income figure of $5,991 should be about right, since that would amount to $71,892 for the year, which is comparable to the annual salary of $70,944 reported for Danny on 3ABN's 2005 Form 990. (See Statement 9 on page 4 of the "Supplemental Information" attached to the Form 990.)

3ABN Area: Low Housing Costs

Since we are talking about the financial affidavit, we'll add this one item that doesn't pertain to royalties. Based on the affidavit, it would appear that right around 3ABN is an excellent place to find low-cost housing. Consider that Danny has declared that his residence is worth only $275,000. Just how much can one get for that sum? Our understanding is that his home has the following features:

4 bedrooms. 4 full baths. 1 half bath. 5000+ sq. ft. 2-car garage. Wrap-around porch. 18½ acres. Large pond. Large horse barn. Paved driveway. Swimming pool.

For comparison, consider the higher-priced area of West Frankfort, not very far away at all. (Actually, it's so close that Danny's mailing address is West Frankfort too.) There we have a home being offered for sale in March 2007 for $204,300, a listing with an MLS ID of 257978. Located at 18297 Lone Oak Terrace in the Forrest Ridge subdivision, you just can't get as much for your money as you can next to 3ABN:

Description Wooded-Cul-De-Sac-Over an Acre Beautiful wooded lot in a country subdivision is the location for this lovely, well maintained home featuring a great room well arranged to entertain a large group or a cozy family evening, large arched windows, crown molding, well designed kitchen with all appliances, dining room, master bedroom suite, with jet tub and separate shower in master bath. Features 3 beds 2 baths 2358 Sq. Ft. 1.18 Acres Lot Features Lot Dimensions (203x210x235x28) Lot Topography (Wooded-Gently Rolling) Road Type (County) Sewer Utilities (Aerator) View (Wooded) Water Utilities (City) Building Features Cooling System (Central) First Floor Sq Ft (2,358) Gross Living Area Sq Ft (2,358) Heating System (Geo Thermal Electric) Interior Features Bedroom 2 Dim (12x11.5) Bedroom 3 Dim (12.5x112) Dining Room Dim (12.5x12) Great Room Dim (35x19.5) Kitchen Dim (11.4x14.2) Appliances Dishwasher Disposal Microwave Range/Oven Refrigerator Exterior Features Parking (2 car attached) (Found on DonnaPrattHomes.com on March 21, 2007)

On Second Thought ...

On second thought, is it at all possible that this financial affidavit does not reflect reality, that Danny's house is worth much more than $275,000, that he does have a lot more than $2,500 in two bank accounts, that he is trying to hide his book deal profits and his assets lest he have to fork over more to the lady he divorced and called an adulteress when he had no proof to that effect? Then that would help make more sense out of comments by folks who live around Thompsonville and West Frankfort who think Danny is quite wealthy, perhaps even a millionaire.

[The following portion of this web page was left out of the Exhibit 3 that was attached to the Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Ex Parte Motion for Preliminary Impoundment. Some might conclude that a clear example of an asset not being included in Danny's finanical affidavit was thus omitted.—Save3ABN.com.]