PARIS, Oct 27, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) — The Church of Scientology Tuesday was convicted of fraud and six of its members ordered to pay as much as $595,000 each, prosecutors in France said.
The two plaintiffs in the trial testified the church and its members defrauded them through the use of a so-called electropsychometer, or E-Meter, that allegedly measures spiritual well-being, CNN reported.
The plaintiffs said they were encouraged to pay thousands of dollars for unnecessary vitamins and books after the device was used on them.
The church, which is classified as a sect in France, had said it would appeal any judgment against it.
The Correctional Court judge overseeing the trial said the church must remain on the “correct side of the law” if it is to continue operating in France. Prosecutors had asked for the church and its bookstore to be permanently shut down.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International
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posted October 27, 2009 at 7:44 pm
L Ron Hubbard fled France to avoid a fraud charge years ago, now it looks like
it’s finally caught up to Scientology.
posted October 27, 2009 at 7:48 pm
That’s pretty crazy.
posted October 27, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Some folks will fall for anything! A meter that measures spiritual well being? However it seems that the court in France didn’t take into consideration that the people who fell for that contraption should have thought twice, and convicted the “church”. Interesting.
posted October 27, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Ah, religion.
posted October 28, 2009 at 12:24 pm
More self-help? At least they didn’t expire, as in Arizona.
posted October 28, 2009 at 1:03 pm
In many ways my sense of S’ology is the same as the cult (I doubt any real faith is involved) of Star Trek fans who practice Klingon rituals or Star Wars fans who talk of Jedi training. That Hubbard pulled together a set of training sessions and a heirarchy and organization is nifty, in a sci-fi geek sort of way. But we cannot move to the desert and live as if on Dune, or travel to Scotland and wish we were at Hogwarts, or to move to New Zealand and pretend we are hobbits, or visit Cormwall and act like Knights of the Round Table. S’ology has taken on a life of its own, but that is likely to start crumbling as people discover it, like the Wizard of Oz, is nothing but a old man behind a curtain pulling levers and pushing buttons.
posted October 28, 2009 at 9:32 pm
j, a lot of people have thought the same things about Christianity.
posted October 29, 2009 at 12:14 am
nnmns
I am not so sure about that. Christianity grew from a few strong traditions, especially Jewish, Greek, and Celtic. The works I cited were specifically late 20th century works of fiction, most of which spring mostly from the imagination of a single author. Hubbard is but one of those quthors. The Gospels and Old Testament works are likely to be the work of many authors working over centuries. I understand your point, but I don’t think it applies.
posted November 17, 2009 at 2:55 am
It is because of a group of people that the whole sect has to suffer. The bad deeds of some men to satisfy their greed has left a bad name of the whole community. Such works has to be kept in check and the laws should also be strict against such offenders.