‘Christan’ music school at site of former Military school in Lexington, Mo., at center of controversy

A controversial religious group purchased the campus of the former Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Mo. Four years later, Jubilee University, which calls itself a Christian music college, still has no students on campus.

It’s part of a larger network of schools connected to World Olivet Assembly, a church started by controversial South Korean Pastor David Jang, who was once a follower of Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church, KTVI-TV in St. Louis reported. The state of New York has shut down another of Jang’s schools, Olivet University. The state rescinded the university’s certification after some of its executives were convicted in a money-laundering investigation by the New York District Attorney’s office regarding a $35 million scheme.

In California, two Olivet universities are fighting expulsion by the state agency that oversees religious colleges. Plus, four former students filed suit against one of the campuses, claiming they were held hostage, required to work for free and didn’t get the education they were promised. Multiple news reports claim the Department of Homeland Security is investigating the California schools over allegations of money laundering, visa fraud and labor trafficking.

The president of Olivet University repeatedly has denied all wrongdoing and said former students who have spoken out against the school are lying. “As far as I know there are no felonies, they are misdemeanors,” President Marcus Lundin told the TV station, referring to the convictions in New York.

Lundin said Jubilee’s Lexington campus has been operating online for three years with about 30 foreign students, none of whom are charged tuition. He said the school eventually will have dozens of foreign students on campus after it gains accreditation, although that still could still be years away.

“We are in it for the long haul,” he said. “We are not planning to go anywhere. We are not going to abandon the place. We are making improvements and our long-term goal is to have hundreds of students on campus.”

Lundin said the majority of support for the school, which was purchased for $1 million, comes from church members around the United States who own businesses.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice