Who is David Nielsen? Whistleblower LDS Church finances scandal explored  

David Nielsen, a former portfolio manager at Ensign Peak Advisors, who managed funds for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, turned into an IRS whistleblower when he uncovered religious institutions’ fraudulent activities. David worked for nearly 10 years as an investment advisor for Ensign Peak Advisors, which manages the investments of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah.

In 2019, he blew the whistle on the LDS fund to the IRS after he uncovered that the church had violated its religious tax-exempt status to illegally accumulate over $100 billion in investments from members’ tithing - a biblical practice where disciples of the church are required to pay or give a tenth part of their income as an offering to support the religious institution.

On May 14, 2023, in an exclusive interview with CBS 60 Minutes, David Nielsen said that the church falsely claimed that the tithing money was spent on charitable works to avoid paying billions in taxes on the stockpiled wealth. In a startling revelation, Nielsen alleged that contributions from members’ tithing were reportedly spent to bail out businesses with church ties instead of being spent on good works.

The revelation comes on the heels of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment arm, Ensign Peak Advisors, being fined $5 million in February 2023 for concealing a nearly $32 billion equity portfolio using shell companies.

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David Nielsen's allegations against the LDS explored

On Sunday, May 14, LDS church whistleblower David Nielsen spoke to 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and explained his decision to file a complaint to the IRS against LDS.

David Nielsen, a devout Mormon, who graduated from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, worked as a Wall Street money manager at the D. E. Shaw Group in New York City for years. Nielsen then left New York to work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ financial firm, Ensign Peak Advisors as a portfolio manager in 2009.

In the 60 minutes interview, Nielsen explained his decision to leave New York for Utah, saying that he was called to serve his church and community and was excited at the prospect of doing some good work that would potentially spark a positive change in the world. However, Nielsen reportedly resigned 10 years later after becoming disillusioned by the faith’s illegal practices.

While working at the firm, Nielsen discovered that the church had accumulated billions of dollars from their 17 million member’s tithing contributions. He said the church intentionally concealed the wealth in a “clandestine hedge fund” instead of spending the money on good works.

“It was really a clandestine hedge fund. Once the money went in, it didn’t go out.”

The church reportedly brings in $7 billion every year from members’ tithing, of which $1 billion reportedly went into the Ensign Peak Advisors account.

David Nielsen explained his decision to seek the government's intervention regarding the church’s activities, saying that his integrity was at stake after discovering his former investment group knowingly colluded with the religious institution to conceal wealth.

“I thought we were going to change the world.”

He added:

“We just grew the bank account.”

As per CBS, Bishop Christopher Waddell defended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and denied any wrongdoing saying that the whistleblower does not have adequate information to understand the church’s practices.