In our last story about Efrem Logreira, we told you that he had turned down the offer of a check for $8,415 from the Church of Scientology.
We explained that Logreira, 75, joined Scientology only last year, but his handlers at the Los Angeles “org” ran up charges of $73,000 on credit cards that it opened for him — and then barred him from coming to Scientology events or taking more courses, which the money was supposed to pay for.
Since then, he’s been trying to get his money back while getting hit with fees and interest on those charges. We started talking to him earlier this year after he quietly reached out to us, and we also reported that he has been talking to law enforcement. And in our last story we revealed that he has been talking to attorney Graham Berry, a figure well known for taking on cases against the church.
Well, now we have another report about how desperate the Church of Scientology is to solve its Efrem problem.
We told you that the church has already given Efrem $65,000 back at his request, which is pretty unheard of in our experience. And last time, we told you that the church had been trying to send him a check for $8,415 to complete the $73,000 in charges the church ran up on his cards.
But Efrem refused that payment, saying that he still had about $43,000 on those cards as a result of all the fees and interest charges that he was hit with during his experience with Scientology — and he wants to be made whole.
Scientology apparently knows that it is very vulnerable in this case. Last week, Berry tells us, he was in court on another matter when he was approached by well known Scientology in-house lawyer Kendrick Moxon.
“Moxon walked up to me and handed me two checks for $10,000 for Efrem,” Berry tells us.
Moxon? Handing out checks? At the courthouse?
If you’ve been watching Scientology for any length of time, you probably realize how utterly uncharacteristic this is.
Efrem tells us he is refusing to take the two checks, saying that he’s sticking to his guns — he wants to be made whole, and two checks totalling $9,990 is not going to do that.
The first check is from the Church of Scientology Los Angeles for $8,415. It’s the same amount he was being offered by the org in our last story.
The second check is new, and Efrem explains that it has an interesting history. It’s from the Continental Liaison Office (CLO) of the Church of Scientology Western United States, and it’s for $1,575. “Repayment for accommodations,” it says for a description.
Efrem was in a desperate situation when he put his trust in Scientology last year. He had lost his job and his home, and the church offered to put him up as he took classes.
They found him a room in Scientology berthing on Fountain Avenue, telling him that he would be charged only $50 a night to live there. “It was full of bugs, and there were five people to one bathroom,” he tells us. He was asked for, and paid, $3,000 up front for two months stay.
But after only 28 days, he was asked to leave.
“They told me I couldn’t stay there longer than that. They told me I had to move. So why did I have to pay $3,000 to be there?” he says.
Efrem listed that overpayment in the lengthy letters he has sent the church over the last several months, saying that he is owed $1,575 for the amount he overpaid for the bug-ridden room.
And now, Scientology wants to pay him that money — and had its attorney track down Efrem’s lawyer at the courthouse to pay him.
“I think their eagerness has to do with opening credit cards in his name,” says Berry. “And they’ve been doing it a long time. I’ve got documents about that from twenty to thirty years ago. It’s an old gimmick of theirs — and great for their stats.”
Here, we even have the checks for you to stare at. Get a good look at them. It’s not every day that Scientology is handing out money.
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MEANWHILE, AT FACEBOOK…
Please join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 13, 2018 at 07:00
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The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2017 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2017), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts
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