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Law Firm to Release Report Exposing Camden Bishop’s Financial Chicanery, Attempts to Shield Millions from Clergy Abuse Survivors

By Trusha Goffe May 11, 2021

Investigation reveals Bishop of Camden controls half a billion dollars more in assets than disclosed in bankruptcy plan

Virtual Press Conference Tomorrow: 10 AM ET / 9 AM CT

(Camden, NJ) – Tomorrow, over a live moderated virtual press conference, attorney Jeff Anderson will:

  • Reveal and discuss findings from an investigation into the organizational structure and assets under the control of the Bishop of the Diocese of Camden, including
    • The Bishop of the Diocese of Camden has at least $774 million under his control.
      • The $774 million under the Bishop’s control comes from the amounts disclosed in his bankruptcy Plan, the real estate values of Diocesan property, and the real estate values of his parishes.
      • The Diocese’s various bankruptcy filings show that the Bishop had more than $223 million in cash, investments, and holdings under the Diocese.
      • In its financial disclosures, the Diocese of Camden listed 51 properties with a total value of $0. A review of county property records identified that these properties were assessed to be worth over $23.6 million. In addition, research identified five other properties owned by the diocese that were not disclosed in its filings that were assessed to be worth another $2.8 million.
      • The overall value of all the property held by the parishes and missions within the Diocese of Camden was calculated to be more than $524 million.
    • The Bishop’s Bankruptcy Plan Grossly Underreported Its Assets & Aimed to Disadvantage Survivors of Clergy Abuse.
      • In its bankruptcy filing the Diocese of Camden listed its total assets as $53,968,732 and total liabilities as $25,790,251, meaning it claimed its net assets were $28,178,481.
      • The Bishop filed a plan of reorganization without the survivors’ approval, where the Bishop would have paid $10 million or less to all the survivors of child sexual abuse at the hands of priests in the Diocese of Camden. The Plan would have required the survivors to pursue the Diocese’s insurance coverage with their own money.
      • Under the Bishop’s plan, the Diocese would have also gotten paid back money it put into the plan if there were insurance recoveries, meaning the Diocese might have only had to pay $250,000. This is less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the assets under the Bishop’s control
    • Release a new Anderson Report detailing these findings.

A moderated Q&A will immediately follow.

WHEN: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 –10:00 AM ET / 9:00 AM CST

FORMAT: The press conference will take place over a secure Zoom conference call and will be filmed live in our New York office. Attendees will be on mute upon arrival but will be able to submit questions through Zoom chat. Alternatively, attendees can wait until the conclusion of the presentation to ask questions directly over Zoom.

ZOOM Details: Press are welcome to join the Zoom call. Please contact media@andersonadvocates.com for login information.

LIVE STREAM: The press conference will also be live-streamed via Vimeo and in the News section of our website.

MEDIA NOTE: The press conference will be filmed at 1080p resolution with a broadcast camera and uploaded in real time to Vimeo. Video files will be uploaded to Vimeo and available for download here following the conclusion of the event for use by broadcast and digital media (processing of the full resolution video file may take up to an hour). Submit requests to media@andersonadvocates.com.