The feds are probing a Chicago-based startup called Dream Exchange and its alleged ties to the Church of Scientology after a whistleblower claimed the company misused investor funds, according to a report.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in recent weeks has been interviewing ex-employees of Dream Exchange after the company applied for SEC approval to operate as a stock exchange, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.
Officials from the SEC’s Chicago office have also spoken to the former staffers about the company’s reported links to Scientology-affiliated groups, according to the report.
The probe, which is still in its early stages, was sparked by an initial Journal exposé earlier this year on Dream Exchange that described how employees were made to read the writings of church founder L. Ron Hubbard
It described how the anonymous whistleblower filed a complaint to the SEC in February, which alleged that the company failed to disclose its links to Scientology to investors.
The complaint also claimed that employees were often asked to do volunteer work on behalf of the Church.
Joe Cecala, the company’s founder and CEO, is a Scientologist and a major donor to the organization, according to the Journal.
The newspaper said that funds from Dream Exchange LLC were shifted into an account held by its parent company, owned by Cecala, that made donations to Scientology-affiliated organizations, totalling tens of thousands of dollars a month.
The startup claims to support Black and minority-owned businesses by enabling them to list shares and attract investor capital.
Dan K. Webb, a lawyer for Dream Exchange, said “the claims made against Dream Exchange and its founder are false and meritless.”
The Post has approached the Church of Scientology for comment. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment.
Scientology was founded in 1954 by science fiction writer Hubbard, who died in 1986, and it enjoys tax-exempt status as a religion in the US.
Foreign governments, including France and Germany, have labelled it as a cult, and critics accuse Scientologists of harassing people who seek to quit or those who hit out at the organization.
Its followers include “Saturday Night Fever” star John Travolta and “Mission: Impossible” actor Tom Cruise.
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