“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”

Over the years Jerry has spoken about his testimony. He claims to have been saved at the age of 4, which technically places him in the Once Saved Always Saved Camp, but as a young adult, he was a biker in a backslidden state chasing hookers and getting drunk. Eventually, he claims to have had an encounter with the Holy Spirit where he lost the ability to speak English for a few days. Shortly after that he met and married Verla, became a millionaire, and nearly 20 years later he lost everything. He goes on to speak of the land in Texas and the house God gave him and laments about the “Damascus road experience” he had where God told him to “evict the lies”. What’s interesting to me is he never explains how he lost everything. That’s probably a piece of information he doesn’t want you to know especially since he is entrusted with your donations for the purpose of doing God’s work. Allow me to fill in the gaps.

On July 12, 1999, the IRS filed a Federal Tax Lien in the amount of $143,117 in Forsyth County, GA which is where the process of losing everything started. Now, I’m aware mistakes happen but it’s my intention to show a trend that goes beyond a simple error in his taxes. He would eventually file for 2 chapters 11 bankruptcy, one of which was converted to chapter 7 and both discharged in February 2001. During this time his pastor Jentezen Franklin, of Free Chapel Church in Gainesville, GA, learned the truth of what was happening in Jerry’s life and removed him from the church. After all, the Bible is very clear on the matter of paying your taxes. It’s interesting to note that another IRS Federal Tax Lien was filed on January 18, 2000, for the same $143,117. I can only speculate that an agreement was reached that Jerry was not able to honor which led to the second filing. If that were the end of this situation then it wouldn’t be all that exciting, but let’s continue.

Just 2 months after the initial Federal Tax Lien Jerry formed a company called Vineyard Properties LLC on September 16, 1999, for what I can only speculate was to be used as a shell company in order to hide assets from the IRS. The company would eventually be dissolved on May 16, 2008. I suspect this company was only used temporarily as the true answer to his problems would be a company that doesn’t require an owner to be listed. This is where Cherokee Ironworks LLC came into existence on February 11, 2003. Jerry formed this limited liability corporation in Delaware, a state he didn’t live in, for the benefit of being a tax haven. Now with a corporation to hide assets he can carry on avoiding paying his taxes.

https://icis.corp.delaware.gov/eCorp/EntitySearch/NameSearch.aspx

And sure enough, the State of Georgia filed 2 tax liens on April 1, 2005, in the amount of $1,842 the amount of $902 in Hall county. On July 26, 2006, the State of Georgia would file another tax lien in the amount of $23,076 in Gwinnett county. Jerry would eventually move to Texas where once again the IRS would come after him. This time the IRS filed a Federal Tax Lien in the amount of $83,394 in Dallas County.

On April 12, 2012, Jerry would eventually purchase the 3 parcels that make up the land he claims as “the ranch”. What caused me to become suspicious was that these properties are under the name of his corporation Cherokee Ironworks LLC. Most normal people would put the home they own under their name but I suppose if you are still hiding from the IRS then it’s best to use a shell company formed in a state known for forming corporations to be used as tax havens.

https://esearch.comanchecad.org/Search/Result?keywords=cherokee%20ironworks

When there was talk of receiving a stimulus payment from the IRS it’s worth noting that Verla responded by saying “We choose not to voluntarily give the IRS any info.”

This also might be the biggest reason Jerry has consistently said on Facebook and in his videos on YouTube that “The Church At The Ranch” will never be 501c3…

In the spirit of keeping the actual ownership of Cherokee Ironworks from being known even the domain name uses the name of another individual while the contact email address is Jerry’s. A quick Whois.com search easily reveals the name for the registrant contact as Nathan Toney. FT and D International was administratively dissolved on May 16, 2008, in Georgia. Considering Jerry’s religious nature it is worth pointing out that FT and D was originally Yahweh, Inc. before changing the name on May 17, 1995.

https://www.whois.com/whois/cherokeeironworks.com

It’s not just cherokeeironworks.com that Jerry used a potential strawman to register these domains but 2 more domains can be found with this Nathan Toney while the contact information is Jerry’s.

https://www.xlek.com/find/nathan-toney.5381619.html

All the information I’ve submitted for this blog post can easily be found online and is all a matter of public record. It’s quite obvious that Jerry is nothing more than a grifter who realized if he claimed to be a pastor he can make money off of weak-minded individuals that believe it is their job to support someone that claims to be a servant of God. And by not becoming tax-exempt the donations from his followers are under-the-table income having no accountability.