FIRST PERSON ACCOUNTS

Personal accounts of abuse,
deception and fraud in Scientology

Barnes, Greg
Barnes, Debra
Bezazian, Tory
Christman, Tory
Gardini, Maria Pia
Hattaway, Ed
Hattaway, Tera
Woodcraft, Astra
Woodcraft, Lawrence
Woodcraft, Zoe
Young, Robert Vaughn
Zizic, Barbara
Zizic, Bill

THANK YOU!

The staff of the Lisa McPherson Trust would like to offer our sincere thanks to all of these wonderful people for their courage in coming forth and sharing their stories with us - and for taking action against the pain that Scientology has inflicted upon them and others.

For every story we have (published or non,) we know that there are thousands more that we don't have;  however, every day more and more of the untold number of Scientology's  victims are contacting the Lisa McPherson Trust, many of whom are no longer feeling as alone or as intimidated or as helpless as they did before having the opportunity to read these 1st person accounts.

 
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP STOP THE ABUSE & FRAUD IN SCIENTOLOGY!

An effective action you can take is to share your thoughts about these stories in a letter to your congressman. He or she can be located then written to here.

The Lisa McPherson Trust documents cases of deception, abuse and fraud in Scientology. Our documentation is sometimes requested by government agencies involved in investigations into Scientology organizations and their front groups. If you would like to send us a copy of a letter you've written to Scientology or to a government agency for our records, would like help with locating agencies that address and take action against specific types of abuse or fraud, or know of a story that we should have in our records, please contact Teresa Summers at the LMT. Any contact is kept in strict confidence and The Trust will not make public any stories or documents without your permission.

Teresa's email address is tsummers@lisamcpherson.org/LMT. She can also be contacted by phone at the Lisa McPherson Trust at 727-XXXX.

GREG AND DEBRA BARNES: TWO OT VII'S LIVING IN CLEARWATER WHO WERE EX-COMMUNICATED FOR FOLLOWING HUBBARD'S OWN POLICIES.

By all accounts, the Barnes' were ideal Scientologists. Yet, in a bizarre series of events, occuring because they understood Hubbard's writings so well, they were thrown out of Scientology after challenging changes that were being implemented by the organization's management - changes that contradicted Hubbard's own policies. As a result, all of their Scientology connections were severed and even their child had to leave the school he attended.

Through research and soul searching, the Greg and Debra eventually left Scientology - of their own accord.

TORY CHRISTMAN-BEZAZIAN: OT VII, EX-SEA ORG, EX OSA, 30-YEAR MEMBER

In July of 2000, while working with Scientology's Office of Special Affairs on a project geared toward stopping the Scientology's critics from speaking freely about Scientology, this thirty-year member and OT VII from California discovered the truth about her "church," then set herself free.

Tory now speaks out against Scientology's abusive practices, especially those concerning Scientology's treatment of families, while also learning to re-adjust to life outside of the walls of the organization.

LMT Media filmed several interviews with Tory shortly after she left. Her "Suppressive Person declare" by Scientology as well as several legal documents and written works are listed on the page we've created on Tory.

MARIA PIA GARDINI: OT VIII, CLASS 9 AUDITOR, EX-SEA ORG MEMBER, BILKED OF HER INHERITANCE

In January of 2001, Maria Pia Gardini, contacted the Lisa McPherson Trust from Italy with a terrible story of abuse and fraud in Scientology. We've put up a page where you can meet Maria Pia Gardini, read her declarations - including one about the incredible bait-and-switch fraud that is perpetrated by Scientology on the so-called "Confidential OT Levels"- and where you can also link to the six-part video interview we did with her.

THE HATTAWAYS: A MARRIED COUPLE DEFRAUDED OUT OF THEIR LIFE SAVINGS BY SCIENTOLOGY

ED HATTAWAY: CHIROPRACTOR, GOT INTO SCIENTOLOGY VIA W.I.S.E.

Ed Hattaway, chiropractor in the Atlanta area, contacted the Trust and asked us to post a video of the experience he and his wife had in Scientology. We've put up a page where you can meet the Hattways which includes links to a declaration about Ed's experiences with WISE and Scientology that he has given to the LMT to publish and the video he sent us. He and his wife Tera hope to help others avoid being defrauded as they were by Scientology and, as Ed put it, " the single most lucrative dissemination line for the cult: WISE."

TERA HATTAWAY, GOT INTO SCIENTOLOGY SHORTLY AFTER GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL

Tera became a staff member at a very young age. Among her duties, she was assigned to watch over staff children. She has written a declaration detailing the horrid conditions in which she witnessed these children being raised and shares her views on why Scientology parents allow their children to be grow up in substandard conditions.

THE WOODCRAFT FAMILY: THREE GENERATIONS OF THE WOODCRAFT FAMILY, WHOSE LIVES WERE SEVERELY AFFECTED BY SCIENTOLOGY, CAME TO THE LMT IN JANUARY OF 2001 TO TELL US ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH THE ORGANIZATION.

ASTRA WOODCRAFT 2nd GENERATION SCIENTOLOGIST WHO SPENT HER CHILDHOOD IN SCIENTOLOGY'S SEA ORG.

When she was seven-years old, Astra was thrust into Scientology's Sea Organization when her parent's joined.

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ASTRA WOODCRAFT - continued -

She married at age 15 then became pregnant with her daughter, Kate when she was 19. Sea Org officials, including her own mother, insisted she have an abortion so that she could continue her career with "Scientology's elite". Astra refused to do it. Learn about her life as a child in the Sea Org, including the grotesquely substandard living conditions she endured as well as the lack of education provided to Scientology's children - and discover what she did to finally escape.

LAWRENCE WOODCRAFT, ARCHITECT, EX-SEA ORG.

Lawrence is Astra and Zoe's father. In an attempt to keep his family together, Lawrence joined the Sea Org in Clearwater in the late 80's following his wife's demands that he do so. In 1987, while in the Sea Organization, this licensed architect from England was assigned to prepare plans for interior remodeling of Scientology's cruise-liner, the Freewinds. After discovering large quantities of the most dangerous form of asbestos under layers of the ship's paint, Woodcraft alerted Sea Org officials - who refused to remove it. Lawrence blow's the whistle on the asbestos cover-up and also shares his feelings about how his decisions affected his children's lives.

ZOE WOODCRAFT, 2nd GENERATION SCIENTOLOGIST, RAISED BY THE SEA ORG.

Zoe is a lovely sixteen-year-old who recently escaped Scientology's Sea Organization after being raised in horrific conditions from age two onward. In her affidavits, this courageous young woman blows the whistle on how the Sea Org raises its children - from secret children's camps where the children's lives are completely controlled with heavy work schedules and substandard "educational programs" to the bad nutrition, lack of supervision and little to no parental contact, Zoe discusses how children are routinely and severely punished for minor offenses and taught to lie to their Sea Org parents about their states of well-being. Zoe offers an insight into this part of Scientology which has never been made public before.

ROBERT VAUGHN YOUNG: EX HIGH-RANKING SEA ORG OFFICIAL WHO WORKED WITH HUBBARD AND DAVID MISCAVIAGE

Although Robert Vaughn Young's story precedes the founding of Lisa McPherson Trust and he is in no way affiliated with the trust, we felt it was important to provide a little information about him in this section.

Vaughn became involved with Scientology in the late sixties while working as an assistant professor of philosophy at a California university. Intrigued by the progress Hubbard claimed to be making in his new "Science of the Mind" Vaughn soon became an avid supporter. His experience in the upper echelons of the sect's management included orhcestrating Public Relations campaigns - including the transition of Scientology as an "applied philosphy" to "religion" after the organization was raided in the 70's by the FBI; TV interviews on behalf of the sect as well as oversight of lawsuits and politcal lobbying for Scientology.

After leaving Scientology, Vaughn was frequently sought as an expert witness in cases about Scientology, including the Lisa McPherson case.

DR.'S BILL AND BARBARA ZIZIC: A MARRIED COUPLE, BOTH DENTISTS, WHO GOT INTO SCIENTOLOGY VIA W.I.S.E

These two dentists from the Chicago area were defrauded by WISE and demanded a refund from the Church of Scientology. Expecting trouble in their attempt to get their money back from Scientology, the Zizic's called on LMT Media's producer, Mark Bunker, to fly to Chicago to do a video interview with them and also to document the refund process - including meeting with Scientology officials. In the process of documenting the story, Scientology hired two off-duty, uninformed police officers to arrest Mark on bogus criminal trespassing charges. The Zizics later did receive a refund but signed a "gag order" as a condition of getting their money back from Scientology.