Johnson said that when the IRS began examining valuations from one particular appraisal group, the sellers who suffered the consequences unfairly blamed Welfont, which “like all industry leaders…naturally has a target on its back.”
About the four previously mentioned lawsuits that have been settled, Johnson said that the “judges have already sided with Welfont, ruled in their favor, and we believe they will continue to do so because the facts are clear.”
Johnson explained why he says that Welfont won the cases against J&A, Sterling, Gibbs, and AMPCO, even though judges ruled against Welfont in the latter two cases.
Regarding the lawsuits from J&A and Sterling, which were voluntarily dismissed with prejudice, Johnson said, “That means the plaintiffs are barred from bringing the same claim against the defendant again in any court. Welfont responded, defended, and won these cases.”
In the Gibbs and AMPCO cases, default judgments were entered against Welfont and the other defendants, which had to pay over $600,000 in the former case and over $7 million in the latter. Johnson does not see those cases as a loss to Welfont because he says that Welfont was not aware of them.
“By the time Welfont was made aware of these cases, they had already been closed. Welfont had also ceased operations, making any judgment meaningless,” he said. “In other words, of the cases they were aware of and have actually defended, Welfont and/or Johnson won every time.” Regarding the Godley case, which is currently active, he said, “Johnson is confident Welfont et al. will again prevail.”
Johnson’s view of the DOJ’s case is that it is “the simplest of all of them and the easiest in which to prevail.” Johnson said the lawsuit is the result of the IRS personally targeting him:
Not only has the IRS been found liable for unfairly targeting conservatives, they had to pay out damages and issue public apologies for this practice. As an outspoken Christian conservative entrepreneur, the IRS has unsuccessfully targeted Johnson for years. Johnson doesn’t see this as just an easy case to win as he has already done with other cases, but an opportunity to stand up against the schemes of the IRS and expose their abusive tactics.
Johnson linked his response to the DOJ’s allegations and said the lawsuit was just one example in the IRS’ “long history of abusing Christians and conservatives.” The fact that President Trump signed an executive order against anti-Christian bias in government is evidence of the “ongoing nature of this harassment,” he said.
Johnson said another reason to believe that the IRS is targeting him is that the IRS is trying to stop him from doing “activities that they know don’t exist.” In response to why he requested a jury trial in this case, he said, “Johnson is not going to be bullied and looks forward to exposing the IRS and their abusive tactics through this process. What better way is there to do this than a jury trial?”
Lawsuits are to be expected in “this very litigious society,” said Johnson. “Welfont engaged in hundreds of complex commercial real estate transactions with approximately $500 million in transaction value throughout its history. Welfont’s litigation volume was actually less than normal, given its size and scale.”
Regarding his current role at Life Surge and why he stepped back as CEO when he did, Johnson took issue with the phrase “step back” and said he “is focusing on the founder or entrepreneurial role of launching new businesses within the Life Surge ecosystem, rather than the CEO role of operating the existing Life Surge business.”
