Never mind rumors that Scientology was made up by a bad pulp Science Fiction writer after a drunken bet with Robert Heinlein, or that the goal of Scientology is to make its followers into some sort of amoral Sociopaths by removing all conscience and guilt through the process of auditing, Scientology makes money. You see, becoming a sociopath through the process of auditing costs money, lots of it. And with high profile celebrities like Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Isaac Hayes throwing their fortunes into the Church, you can bet it has money, lots of it. Now, what do you think the Church of Scientology does with the money? Ask yourself this, have you ever seen any Scientology run hospitals or any young girls wearing plaid skirts running off to attend classes at St. L. Ron's? No, neither have I. So what does the Church do with all that money, well one thing it does is hire lawyers, lots of them.
Consider the Cult Awareness Network or CAN. CAN was founded in the seventies in the wake of the Mass Murder/Suicides in Guyana under Jim Jones. The idea behind it was to set up a national nonprofit organization to assist the friends and families of people caught up in cults. The group known by the acronym CAN exists still today, at least on paper. However, no one who once helped nurture the network has anything to do with it. Callers to CAN's hotlines will most likely talk to people affiliated with the Church of Scientology.
You see, starting in 1991 CAN had been forced to fend off over 50 lawsuits filed by Scientologists in State and Federal courts around the United States. Scientologists also filed complaints against CAN with State human rights commissions all over the nation. Defending itself against Scientology cost CAN money, a lot.
But the final blow against CAN came in 1996, when a 5.2 Million judgment was made against them in a civil suit. The plaintiff, Jason Scott was not a scientologist, but a member of a Radical Christian Sect who had been "deprogrammed" against his will. Jason's mother had been put into touch with a cult-deprogramming expert named Rick Ross through CAN, who in turn had put Jason through the process. The problem? Jason was already 18 when his mother hired Ross. Jason's age was the determining factor. Jason called the police and Ross was charged with kidnapping. There was no conviction for Ross, but the death-knell for CAN had sounded. A lawyer from Los Angeles called Scott and told him that he had a civil case against CAN. After being promised millions in damages, Scott agreed and the day after Ross' acquittal, a Scientology-affiliated Lawyer filed a lawsuit against CAN. By this point CAN was so broke that it was unable to hire expert witnesses or even pay its defense attorney. CAN lost. What, you say there's only circumstantial evidence linking Scientology to CAN's downfall? Wait.
In 1996, CAN filed Bankruptcy and was forced to liquidate its assets. Former CAN Director Cynthia Kisser arrived in the courtroom in Chicago hoping to buy up the group's trade name, help-line number, Service Mark and Post Office Box to retire them. But she was bid against by Los Angeles Scientologist Steven Hayes, who quickly outbid her at every turn. Soon after, even CAN's 20 years worth of files on cults and their members were turned over to Scientology, as a Scientologist bought up the remaining judgments against the original CAN and gained control of their remaining assets.
Look at how cleverly Scientology brings its enemies to its knees! Not convinced? Read the Time Magazine article entitled, "the Cult of Greed". Still not convinced? Try convincing people that Scientology is evil, make waves. Appear on a few talk shows. Wait. You'll most likely get a few interesting legal documents of your own.
Some of the Information about CAN taken from an Article entitled "Scientology's Revenge" which appeared in the Los Angeles New Times in September 1999.