Click here to return to the Ministrywarning web site regarding convicted criminal and fugitive Ken Parks of Duluth, GA.  Parks runs a fraudulent "ministry" and "charity," that he calls ETC Ministries, last known to be operated from his residence in Duluth, as well as unlicensed businesses AtlantaMAXPhoto, Fotos by Ken and Ansisoft.  Since 2000, Parks has been consumed with stalking, harassing, and threatening numerous people, including those in his own family, via web sites, chatrooms, e-mail and regular mail.  Parks falsely claims he has won all of his pro se (without an attorney) lawsuits against his victims, when in fact the documentation shows he has actually lost his lawsuits.

Below is a very good article by Dave Taylor of Tech News Watch which reiterates the importance of contacting the IRS to check on the legitimacy of any charity.  Attorneys General in every state are seeing an overwhelming number of fraudulent website charities and Katrina website scams, like Ken Parks' fraudulent ETC Ministries.  Astoundingly enough, Parks own rambling posts (made at 3:31 and 3:44 AM) at the bottom of the page indicate he doesn't seem to realize that he offers glaring proof to the very points Mr. Taylor emphasized in his article on why it is so important for the donor public to beware of charity frauds like Parks.  If Parks' apparent mental instability were not so dangerous it would almost be humorous.  Parks shoots himself in the foot by condemning the IRS and ridiculously libeling his critics with accusations that are easily proven by documentation on the Ministrywarning site to be unequivocally false.  He also engages in double speak by claiming on his website that he doesn't ask for donations but then states that if anyone wants to give him money he'll accept it -- which is the same as asking for donations!  His own statements emphasize his danger to the donor public.

Click here to return the ministrywarning homepage. 

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IRS Guidelines for Picking a Katrina Charity

by Dave Taylor on September 3, 2005 at 8:55 pm · Comments
Categorized by Personal News / Related Information

Citizens seeking to make donations to help Hurricane Katrina victims should seek out qualified charities, the Internal Revenue Service said today.

People who have a specific charity in mind can make sure that it is a qualified charity by searching an IRS-approved list available on the IRS Web site. IRS.gov has an on-line search feature that allows people to find qualified charities. Some organizations, such as churches and governments, may be qualified even though they are not listed.

The IRS does not endorse any charity. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has urged citizens to make cash donations to volunteer agencies with whom it is working. The government's official Web portal, FirstGov.gov, also contains disaster-relief information.

In addition, the IRS has prepared Publication 3833, Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance Through Charitable Organizations [PDF], that may be helpful for people who want to make contributions or who want to form a new charity.

"We encourage citizens to make sure their contributions are put to the best use possible to help Hurricane Katrina victims," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "The IRS will do everything possible to assist both taxpayers and charities in this difficult time."

The IRS also issued these following reminders to citizens and charities:

  • IRS Disaster Relief main page
  • Publication 78 lists charities with tax-exempt status, and a searchable on-line version is available through IRS.gov
  • Publication 526 [PDF], Charitable Contributions, provides information on making contributions to charities
  • Taxpayers may claim a deduction for contributions to charitable organizations only if they itemize deductions on Schedule A of their Form 1040. They should retain proof of the contribution and, if the amount is $250 or more, must obtain an acknowledgement from the charity for the amount to be deductible.

Or you can do what we at Real Life Debt have done: donate directly to the American Red Cross.

Your Comments and Trackbacks

Scott & Paulette Buchanan - October 22, 2006 @ 5:40 pm

Thanks for writing your warning to the public about Katrina aid scams and how to look for reputable charities. We know of a person, Ken Parks of Duluth, GA, who is running a fraudulent ministry & charity called ETC Ministries. He openly boasts of NOT registering with the IRS, and makes all kinds of false claims while encouraging people to give him money. Parks has a long history of spotty employment, being fired from jobs, and his family members have been contacted by creditors looking for him for past due bills. The website www.ministrywarning.com contains police, court and other documentation against Parks, such as his conviction record for battery and trespassing, his current fugitive-status (non-extraditable) arrest warrant for harassment, and the harassing pro se lawsuits he’s lost. Journalist Michael Barrick, who has written articles for Ministry Watch, has written a public warning article about him which is included on the ministrywarning website. Parks’ ETC Ministry free-hosted website is etcministry.altervista.com. We’ve sent abuse emails to Altervista’s owner, Gianluca Danesin, about Parks’ libelous and fraudulent website, but Danesin refuses to abide by Italian Data Protection Law and by his own company’s professed Terms of Service against illegal websites. The more people who sound the warning about Ken Parks and his fraudulent ETC Ministries, the better. Thanks.

Ken Parks/ETC Ministries - December 1, 2006 @ 3:31 am

It must be noted that ETC Ministries abides by the standards set forth by the Holy Spirit and not the institutions of men as outlined by the known liars and Connecticut malcontents, Scott and Paullette Buchanan of Colchester CT.

These two malcontents have been spreading lies and defamation against ETC Ministries and its founder, Ken Parks for several years. Paulette Buchanan falsely claimed to the FBI that Ken Parks was spreading computer viruses on the Internet and Denial of Service attacks. She has made several attempts to disrupt his life and the lives of his children such as being involved in the filings of the Department of Child and Youth Services of Connecticut, filed a complaint to the Probate Court in Gwinnett County to have Ken Parks psychologically examined by state doctors.

There are too many things to possibly list. And she convinced Michael Barrick, another hero of church institutions of men to write a sensationalist and errouneous article trying desparately to defame and cause ruin to ETC Ministries and Ken Parks.

If you view the website, http://etcministries.altervista.org/, you will see that ETC Ministries has never asked for donations, contributions, gifts, or any monetary value. This is totally contrary to the report of the malcontents, Scott and Paulette Buchanan of Colchester CT.

They did not report that they lost over $4,800.00 in the legal action of Libel against Ken Parks. That could have been used for the sake of the Katrina victims… tsk, tsk.

Ken Parks/ETC Ministries - December 1, 2006 @ 3:44 am

Also, there is another article about the BARRICK REPORT BLUNDER outlining a partial list of the malice and obsessive disorder of Paulette Buchanan’s attempts to bring harm and defamation to ETC Ministries and Ken Parks.

http://etcministries.altervista.org/barrick/michaelbarrick.html

Again… ETC Ministries abides by the standards established through the Holy Spirit and not the institutions of men, including but not limited to the IRS.