“Ordination is just a legal thing, you can marry them, you can bury them; hatch, match or dispatch them; take care of spiritual needs from the womb to the tomb, from the sperm to the worm, and from the erection to the resurrection.”
-Daniel Zimmerman.
Source: Sunday August 12, 2001
www.religionnewsblog.com/18900/universal-life-church
Summary
Prior to August 2006, Daniel Zimmerman was the acting president of ULC.org and acted with Modesto to sell documents. On August 1, 2006 Zimmerman shut down the website claiming the Church was bankrupt. He refused to fulfill outstanding orders, issue refunds, or pay church employees. Following an extensive episode of Zimmerman’s instability (documented later in this report) the Monastery’s founding board members notified and removed Zimmerman and assumed control of the organization.
A full transcript of the Board of Directors’ meeting, confirming the removal of Daniel Ray Zimmerman can be found below:
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The Modesto Universal Life Church knew full well of Daniel Zimmerman’s fraudulent conduct, and failed, after numerous complaints, to sanction or stop the money which Modesto was receiving from ULC.org.
A History of Deception
When the Arizona based ULC Corporation (ULC.org c. 1996 – 2006) was founded, Zimmerman did not disclose to the founding board members that he was prohibited from presiding over a non-profit corporation because of his prior convictions below.
To explain his time in prison, Zimmerman claimed that he stood up for The Church and that the Federal Courts ruled against him; the records suggest otherwise. Zimmerman never publicly explained the true reasons why he was sentenced to eight years in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.
Federal Indictment
Other Charges
In addition to the federal charges, this charge appears in the federal court records in Arizona. In which Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted via hung jury, of having sexual contact with a patient in the nursing care home that he ran.
Check Fraud
In February of 2006, Rev. Freeman received a call from the FBI; they were investigating three (3) counterfeit checks had been stolen and forged. The largest forged check in the amount of $300,110.00 had been endorsed and deposited by Zimmerman.
Zimmerman had knowledge that the check was a counterfeit, and still he surreptitiously attempted to deposit it in a Chase Bank ATM. Additionally, he had obtained power of attorney over his co-conspirator (Gary Lee Munroe), without the knowledge or consent of the Monastery’s Board, Zimmerman did so in order to aid and abet his check scam.
Terrorism threat to bomb Tucson’s Park Place Mall
On a separate occasion, Zimmerman threatened to, “blow up” the Park Place Mall in Tucson, AZ.
These charges were not taken lightly.
Using church funds to hire an attorney, Zimmerman plead guilty and agreed to a deferred sentence. Once again, he acted without the approval of the Board of Directors. When Zimmerman was questioned over his use of the organization’s finances he refused to supply any documentation. Zimmerman offered no explanation for his decision to carry in excess of fifteen church credit cards, and insisted upon maintaining exclusive control over church finances.
Jilted Ministers and Employees
On August 1st, 2006, Zimmerman alleged that the church was bankrupt and shut down the website. He refused to fulfill outstanding orders, issue refunds, pay church employees their wages, and later, unlawfully withheld IRS W-2 forms.
Dismissal of Zimmerman’s frivolous Federal and State Court cases
Federal Dismissal
State Dismissal
Summary Judgement