The Knights of Columbus is being accused of inflating its numbers to appear more profitable to insurance companies — and some of its members say they’re paying the price.
Greg McAtee first joined the Knights of Columbus 16 years ago, when he was 55.
He was joining a formidable club, the largest Catholic fraternal organization in the world with alumni like Babe Ruth and John F. Kennedy, and it continues to have powerful political allies in 2019. He was also, though he didn't realize it at the time, becoming a pawn in an alleged scheme to inflate membership numbers for a multibillion-dollar life insurance company.
But to him, the Knights were mostly just a group of nice men from his parish in Mobile, Alabama, who wore matching shirts with shield insignias. They raised money for charity, had Christmas parties for good causes, and fried fish for its friends and family in the local community center.
Today, however, McAtee is a witness for the plaintiffs in a massive new lawsuitthat could shake one of America’s most powerful socially conservative groups to its core. The case is accusing the Knights of Columbus of “racketeering, fraud, deception, theft, and broken promises,” a complaint in the US District Court for Colorado, which will begin hearing the case Monday, reads.
Edit: the Schadenfreude is strong!
AMDG
