Without Walls Pastors Repay Widow's Loan

By MICHELLE BEARDEN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Aug 23, 2007

TAMPA - An elderly widow who loaned $170,000 to Randy and Paula White, co-pastors of Without Walls International Church, says she has been repaid - with interest.

A May 20 Tribune story reported details of the loan Ruth McGinnis, a longtime church member, made in 1995. The Whites had promised to repay McGinnis and to have her live with them as a family member for the rest of her life. She shared their home only sporadically, though, and 12 years later, had been repaid only about $2,000.

"Everything's been settled between Pastor Randy and me," McGinnis, 86, said this week. She said Tampa lawyer Robert Waltuch, recommended by a church member and paid by the Whites, "took very good care of me."

Randy White said the couple paid McGinnis $260,000 - the original debt plus 6 percent interest. The money was distributed in nine certificates of deposit, he said.

"We're very happy that this has been taken care of," White said.

An attorney for Holland & Knight, representing the Whites, verified the payment.

The Whites borrowed the money to buy a $650,000 home in Cheval. Two years later, McGinnis' attorney helped her secure the loan with a lien on the Whites' mortgage. She also got a signed agreement stipulating the "family" living arrangement.

In 1999, the Whites refinanced the mortgage, and McGinnis signed papers effectively removing the lien, though her loan had not been repaid. She said in May that she cared more about living with the Whites and being a part of their family, than the money.

But the couple traveled often, leaving McGinnis alone and lonely. She periodically returned to her own home to be closer to her doctors. In 2002, she moved back home permanently.

The Whites sold the Cheval house in 2006 for $1 million.

In June, the Whites issued a statement saying the financial issues involving McGinnis were the result of "confusion, not malice."

They said the lifetime care contract was canceled by mutual agreement several years earlier. "Mother Ruth has lost the documents and perhaps has forgotten the financial arrangements that were put in place," they said.

They agreed to pay for an attorney selected by McGinnis to resolve the matter, so "she will continue to have the peace of mind over her finances."

Earlier this month, Without Walls satisfied another church attendee's complaint.

On Aug. 15, LaShonda Dupree said that she and her children have moved into a new, $200,000 home purchased by the church. The move came five years after the Whites told her she'd won a house in their Home for the Holidays contest.

The Tribune reported Dupree's story in a May 25 article.

In November 2002, Dupree won the top prize in the church-sponsored essay contest. Amid great fanfare, the Whites congratulated the young, single mother on her new home. The announcement and subsequent tour of the home with Dupree and her children was taped and repeatedly broadcast on a Christian television network.

But Dupree never got the house.

In a statement issued in June, Randy White noted the contest clearly stated the top prize was a down payment on a home - not the whole purchase price.

But Dupree said she believed the church had given her the home, and not just a down payment, because church leaders knew she could not qualify for a mortgage. They had asked her to apply before the announcement was made, and they knew she'd been turned down.

Both Dupree and McGinnis said they were satisfied with their respective outcomes.

McGinnis, who attends several services and choir practice at Without Walls every week, said she is relieved the issue is behind her.

"I love my church and I love my pastors," she said.

Michelle Bearden can be reached at mbearden@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7613.