“Out of an abundance of caution, we immediately engaged outside legal counsel and forensics experts to conduct an independent and comprehensive investigation,” church leaders said in the update. “We continue to actively work with federal authorities who are investigating this matter and recover any misappropriated funds. “
The African Methodist Episcopal Church Department of Retirement Services logo. Courtesy image
Church leaders have also said they are cooperating with federal officials who are investigating the pension fund. They have also set up a task force to look into the pension plan crisis and to develop “a plan of reorganization, recovery, and restoration for fund participants.”
“The AME Church is committed to making every fund participant whole by restoring their full investment plus interest,” church leaders said in the Frequently Asked Questions section of their March update.
Rivera said he hopes the lawsuit can proceed quickly, in part because church leaders have admitted there are problems.
“So having a case like this drag out, unnecessarily, really only harms the people who really dedicated their careers and many years of their lives to the church,” he said. “And we hope that they will work to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
Founded in the late 1700s by former slaves who had been part of Methodist churches, the African Methodist Episcopal Church is one of the nation’s most prominent Black Protestant denominations. The denomination, which was claimed as many as 2.5 million members in the past, is a hierarchical church led primarily by its bishops.
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