Fount NYC Transparency Report

$1.4 Million in Flagged Expenses. A Secret 455-Page Report by Dentons law firm. Below is a Linear Account of Your Statutory Right to the Truth.

1. The $1.4M Investigation: This dropped over Thanksgiving 2025: CapinCrouse financial review found $1.4 million of spending that has no backup, including >$900K of it exclusively personal spending on the church credit card by lead pastors Josh & Georgie Kelsey from 2017–2025. According to CapinCrouse, while <$500K of the unaccounted spending (i.e. no receipts/documented ministerial purpose) could be categorized as ministerial expenses if given the maximum benefit of the doubt, the >$900K of spending cannot. CapinCrouse is widely regarded as the leading trusted CPA firm specializing in churches and nonprofits. Some areas of spending (e.g. fees/commissions on personal trading accounts) can in no way be argued as ministerial expenses.Isabella Aguilar, the then internal Finance Manager in charge of Fount finances, first blew the whistle on this matter via a letter to the then board of trustees in September 2025. The financial issues were brought to Ps. Josh & Georgie by the board on October 1, but subsequently, Ps. Josh & Georgie, along with their lawyer Barry Black, disbanded the entire board except themselves. Isabella is no longer with Fount. Ps. Olu has now been put in charge of Fount finances.2. Governance Failure: Pulpit shared that Fount has been operating like an Article 9 church since inception in 2013 but is legally an Article 10 church where the congregation (i.e. the attendees) is supposed to elect a board independently from the pulpit. Original incorporation articles here. This was presented as a minor oversight discovered August 2025, but it is illegal under NY law, and it means that Fount has legal liability under NY law for its entire duration. Any claim of ignorance of the law does not excuse breaking of the law, as a fundamental principle in any US court.3. Lack of Proper Notice: At two Sunday services over Thanksgiving week (Nov 23 & 30, 2025), a quick verbal announcement was made that there would be a meeting to vote on the board the Monday immediately following (Dec 1), which was the bare minimum legal requirement. Many members were out of town, there were no details/it was super vague, and no church-wide electronic distribution channels were used. Additionally, the online feed was cut immediately before the announcement for those tuning in online, so very few members were aware of the situation.4. The pulpit, led by Ps. Josh, picked six nominees for six trustee seats, including a paid pastor (Olu) and his brother. Olu is listed among the pastors who interviewed the nominees. Members were told they could write in candidates but were given no time nor channel to organize. The nominee information was distributed to a select few members a couple of days before the election.The pulpit claims that the latest board, including David Chan and Chris Bennett, were dismissed in order to comply with Article 10. It is curious if that’s the case why none of the previous board have been put forth as nominees by the pulpit.5. Neither Ps. Josh, nor the pulpit, has the legal authority to call such a meeting:“A special corporate meeting of any such church may be called by the board of trustees thereof, on its own motion or on the written request of at least ten qualified voters of such church.”
New York Religious Corporations Law, Article 10, § 194Upon careful reading of the above law, it is clear that only the board may call a meeting. Even if there is the written request of at least 10 qualified voters, a board is required to call a meeting.Even if no board is required, the statute clearly says ten qualified voters. In the absence of a board, the power trickles down to members to self organize, not up to the clergy.Ps. Josh’s contention is that once he dissolved the illegitimate board under Article 9, he and his wife became the de facto board since they were on the board since inception. This is legally false:“The trustees of an incorporated church shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof at an annual corporate meeting.”
New York Religious Corporations Law, Article 10, § 191This legal statute states that a board can only be elected by qualified voters, and there must be an annual election. When the first annual election did not happen, there has been no board since, and thus, there exists legally a governance vacuum through the present day.“The trustees of an incorporated church shall elect from their number a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer…”
New York Religious Corporations Law, Article 10, § 192Trustees = the governing authority. Officers = agents who execute trustee decisions. The statute is clear that trustees are first, then officers. There cannot be officers who execute an election without trustees, who must be voted in by an election governed by bylaws.Barry Black, Ps. Josh’s lawyer, confirmed that Fount has no valid trustees on this 4 min audio excerpt of a call in September 2025. He also points out the seriousness of Fount’s long history of and ongoing governance issues of not following Article 10 law, including never having held an annual member meeting.See here for the legal proper solution in this case where there is no governance.6. Bylaws are necessary before a trustee election, as they set out who is eligible to be nominated to avoid conflicts of interest and how a fair election should be conducted. Courts reinforce this principle:“The bylaws of a religious corporation serve as the governing rules for notice, nominations, and the conduct of elections under Article 10.”
Matter of Shaw v. Monroe Community Church (N.Y. Sup. Ct.)There is no NY court precedent that a church may validly conduct an election under the control of the pulpit without bylaws. NY RCL Article 10 contains no provision authorizing clergy or the pulpit to run elections in the absence of trustees or bylaws. Voting in proper bylaws, which dictate how a fair election is to be run and who is qualified to be nominated, is not controversial. These elections are reinforced as not legal as Ps. Kevin Myers has confirmed in writing there are no valid bylaws.Barry Black and the pulpit insist that it’s impossible to come up with proposed bylaws in a reasonable timeframe. However, a super simple set of bylaws whose main purpose is to govern a fair election and subsequently give the elected board ability to amend/add the rest of the clauses is very simple (example here). Additionally, David Chan proposed more comprehensive bylaws, which the pulpit had no response to.7. By the end of the Dec 1, 2025, meeting, members protested against the election and any election was postponed indefinitely (in a room of 80-100+ members, 1 voted for moving forward with the election). Members demanded the following:A. Bylaws must be voted on before any election
B. Move forward ASAP with a full CapinCrouse audit for total financial transparencyBarry Black, who represents Ps. Josh, spoke at length on behalf of him and was recorded as having agreed to proceed with the above 2 asks by the members while on stage in a conversation with the lawyer of the congregation.Unfortunately, since the meeting, the pulpit has refused to go forward with A & B. Nothing at all has changed but instead the pulpit unilaterally sets another election in the exact same way. Emails between lawyers regarding this are archived here. Barry Black is quoted reneging their consent to proceeding with bylaws before a new board is in place.Additionally, Ps. Kathryn Myers announced at the meeting that in a future election there would be a new slate of nominees that members would nominate. She then discussed potential ideas with certain members on how the congregation could submit nominees in a future election. None of this transpired.8. Immediately before Christmas on Dec 23, the pulpit announced another election to take place January 11, 2026, via email. This election has the exact same issues as before. The pulpit is running the exact same playbook again except Olu’s brother has been replaced with Olu’s former roommate, Jude, as a pulpit-selected nominee, whilst continuing to block the CapinCrouse audit and ignore a vote on bylaws that govern fair elections. The pulpit running an election again in virtually the same way while ignoring member demands from the last meeting is a meaningful indication of bad faith.10. Ps. Josh has a severe conflict of interest. The very person who would need to be held accountable by the board as to the extent of any financial misappropriation is the one selecting the board nominees and running the process, without congregation-approved bylaws nor congregation input for a fairly organized election. Member requests for transparent financial documents have continued to go unanswered.Ps. Josh has thus far admitted to no misappropriation of any church funds. He sold his 6BR home in the US on October 10, 2025, for ~$2.5M and has moved his entire family back to Australia with no announcement. The mortgage balance was $1.4M (public record: mortgages A and B) at the time of sale.Ps. Josh owns another 3BR property in Hampton Bays (property tax records here; est. $850K value) since 2018. It has been a rental income property since 2021, with the most recent rental revenue at $4,250/mo (rental history here).Ps. Georgie continues to be paid while living in Australia (it has been said her pay will stop at the end of December 2025 after everything has been put under scrutiny). Her presence has been missing at church for at least 2+ years. Georgie has been paid $150K-250K/year in salary since at least the early 2020s. Members historically would often find Ps. Josh himself was missing from church and inaccessible but kept full control and approval on all finances (verified statement from a former head of Fount music).Barry Black was hired to both represent Fount and Ps. Josh in August 2025 to negotiate his employment agreement post-move to Australia, and the pulpit confirmed it will be $200K/year, which is also unlawful. Compensation decisions must be approved by the members at a corporate meeting as defined by law:“The trustees of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable, shall have no power to settle or remove or fix the salary of the minister, or, without the consent of a corporate meeting”
New York Religious Corporations Law, Article 10, § 200Historically, Ps. Josh has been paid in the $200-250K range, so his salary is to stay about the same (again, unlawfully, as such compensation must be approved by the members at a corporate meeting), after they move back to Australia. Not only should members be informed but only members have the authority to set pastoral compensation.Ps. Josh cofounded Church App, Inc., a for-profit entity (Delaware File # 4780851), in January 2021 to develop Fount’s official app (Togather) to run dinner parties. An unclear amount of church funds were funneled into this entity for this purpose via the Vision Builders fund. The app launched November 1, 2021 (photo).The CapinCrouse review revealed church paid for trading fees on his personal investment account so there exists investment holdings outside of properties. Based on the available information, it is likely Ps. Josh & Georgie are multimillionaires just from Fount by this time.11. Ps. Olu has a severe conflict of interest. Ps. Olu, in charge of finances, is already currently blocking the CapinCrouse audit and is now also running for the board. The board is responsible for overseeing, compensating, and disciplining pastors, meaning he is effectively supervising himself. When that same pastor also controls church finances, all independent internal controls collapse, allowing, at minimum, influence over pastoral compensation, benefits, and expenses.12. On December 30, 2025, Fount Paris announced they will rename & entirely separate from Fount. Via internal communications with Ps. Josh, they cited poor leadership as the reason, similar to when Fount Berlin separated. Fount NYC made no announcement regarding this.13. On January 5, 2026, it was discovered that the pulpit has decided to retain a small unknown accounting firm in California called KPM Auditors & Accountants, led by a CPA named Kenneth Mierzwinski, to perform the supposed independent audit, citing that CapinCrouse did not have the capabilities to perform it in a timely manner, and the fact that Fount could save 50% in cost using this small firm. Curiously, Mr. Mierzwinski also recently has or had another accounting business called Relief Accounting and CFO Services, where he claimed he has a world class specialty in the cannabis niche. Ps. Josh stated that Mr. Merzwinski could not get enough business doing accounting for churches during COVID so he turned to the cannabis niche. In any case, the pulpit directing a firm they handpicked to perform an audit is anything but arms-length independent. The audit did not interview former Finance Manager Isabella, nor any of the other pastors who raised financial concerns. The denial of CapinCrouse follows a historically repeated pattern of dismissing all who bring critique to Ps. Josh & Georgie.On January 10, 2026, the pulpit shared that in fact Mr. Mierzwinski isn’t able to complete the audit in time for the election, as they promised. The timeline for Mr. Mierzwinski’s audit may be available in February. This directly contradicts the reasoning provided for not using CapinCrouse.As of January 11, 2026, it can be concluded the pulpit did not fulfill any promises at all since the December 1 meeting, and instead moved forward with a repeat of an unlawful election.14. On January 5, 2026, a Zoom meeting took place with the board nominees of the pulpit. Folks were not let into the Zoom until ~15 min late with an odd message that the meeting was full, pointing to a generic YouTube search link. In that meeting, it was mentioned a CapinCrouse audit was in progress 2020/2021, but it didn’t finish, and Ps. Josh said “I don’t know why”, and in another meeting Ps. Josh put the entire responsibility on Mike Lark, the finance manager at the time, for not continuing with the audit then and never telling Josh. Ps. Josh further claims “receipts are not my responsibility” and that he didn’t know he had to submit them. He also named former Pastors Ryan and Luis as having not submitted over 500 receipts so that he wasn’t the only one.

15. On the night before the election, January 10, two outside pastors (Ps. Dan Lian & Ps. Michael Strickland), sent out an email on behalf of Fount pulpit claiming to be “spiritual advisors” of Fount. Fount members are not familiar with Ps. Strickland at all, and this follows a series of outside pastors unknown to Fount members being brought in by Ps. Josh to vouch for his character (another example is Ps. Chris Durso of Good Company Church and formerly of Saints Church/Christ Tabernacle who has his own past of financial mismanagement). Curiously, no former full time pastors of Fount were ever brought in to speak to Ps. Josh’s character even though many have planted or pastor successful churches elsewhere.16. Fount social media has been removing all comments that are critical of its behavior. Example of a comment that was censored here.17. Results of the January 11 (unlawful) election:Before the election, David Chan proposed an alternative slate of nominees. The election proceeded with Ps. Josh announcing the pulpit’s nominees along with the alternative nominees.Any Q&A was explicitly denied this time to avoid a repeat of postponement of the Dec 1 election. Ps. Josh said, “we’re just voting.”David’s lawyer tried to issue a formal motion in the meeting, but Ps. Josh said “we’re not hearing any motions”. In this audio excerpt, Ps. Josh also mentioned two “inspectors” who they have procured to inspect the votes.NY law indicates an eligible member is anyone who has attended worship and donated regularly to the church within the previous year:“Persons who have been stated attendants on divine worship in such church and have regularly contributed to the financial support thereof during the year next preceding such meeting”
New York Religious Corporations Law, Article 10, § 195The pulpit illegally voided votes based on electronic giving records of each person. Anyone who had donated only via cash (i.e. no electronic record) had their votes voided. The pulpit did not share by what exact criteria they are deciding to void votes. It is unclear whether non-Fount pastors were able to vote.David Chan asked to be in the counting room with Ps. Josh, and Ps. Josh said no. A woman asked to be an independent witness in the room, and Ps. Josh said no. David’s lawyer then stood up and asked the same thing, and Ps. Josh said no. David’s lawyer then informed Ps. Josh that it is illegal for him to be in the room while refusing others but to no avail.The counting room only consisted of 3-4 people total, including Ps. Josh himself. The manager of the venue stood outside the room as a guard.The ballot counting concluded at ~3:30pm, and the results were released via email at 9:17pm. The pulpit announced via outside Pastors Dan Lian and Michael Strickland all 6 of the pulpit’s nominees won. Says future communication will only come from them going forward.18. On January 13, 2026, Frank Wheatley, the president of the new illegitimately elected board sent out an email self-legitimizing the winning of its own election, by simply declaring the results as “clear and conclusive”. Additionally, Frank declared Fount a global church (even though it’s only in NYC) and that both Ps. Josh and Georgie Kelsey can lead Fount NYC from Australia. Fount will presumably cover international flights twice/month for Ps. Josh and lodging in NYC for 2 weeks at a time, on top of his $200K salary. It is unclear when and how much Georgie will continue to be paid.19. On January 15, 2026, The Roys Report published a story on this matter. Multiple publications soon followed.20. On February 27, 2026, Fount sent out a letter as an update. No new concrete evidence nor review has been presented.21. Legacy Church led by Ps. Ryan Schlachter starts a few blocks down from Fount without the support of Fount. Ps. Ryan was at Fount for over 10 years serving as senior lead pastor alongside Ps. Josh. 4-5 other former Fount pastors pictured here on their first Sunday service. This follows a repeated history of former pastors/leaders of Fount showing disapproval of Josh Kelsey's Fount through their actions.22. On March 30, 2026, Fount sent out an email update. Fount says they hired global law firm Dentons to perform an investigation and forensic audit. The update declares there is no financial misappropriation but does not share the Dentons audit nor provide any statement nor lead counsel from Dentons. While declaring no misappropriation, Fount blames all financial impropriety on: (1) total absence of an expense policy, (2) the Kelseys’ ignorance of IRS tax obligations on personal compensation, (3) incompetency of the Fount accounting team in properly filing receipts, and whatever this means: (4) “the administrative infrastructure to capture and retain documentation was insufficient”. This seems to imply the ability to take a photo and send a receipt was not available to the Kelseys.Dentons produced a 455 page audit covering 11,000+ Fount transactions. Fount officially denies affected members a copy of the audit. Fount’s position is that only current active members (very few members even remain at Fount who were affected during the 2017-2025 period in question) can physically inspect a physical document under the supervision of a board member. This is secrecy, not transparency.23. The Vested Right of Former Members to Financial Inspection:The Board’s claim that "former members" have no standing and their restriction against making copies (the "eyes-only" rule) are both direct violations of New York statutory and common law.A. The right to a copy of the audit is mandatory. Under New York law, a "right to inspect" is legally deficient if it does not include the right to photocopy or scan. The Board’s "supervision" cannot be used to prevent the creation of a permanent record.“Any person who shall have been a member... shall have the right to examine in person or by agent or attorney... its minutes... and to make extracts therefrom.”
N-PCL § 621(b)“The right of a [member] to inspect the books of his corporation includes the right to take extracts therefrom. To deny the right to take extracts is to deny the right to inspect.”
Matter of Henry v. Babcock, 239 N.Y. 120“The right of a corporator, who has an interest, in common with the other corporators, to inspect the books and papers of the corporation, for a proper purpose and under reasonable circumstances... is necessary to their protection.” Matter of Steinway, 159 N.Y. 250B. Standing of "Former" Members (Vested Interest): the Board cannot extinguish a member's right to investigate misappropriation by simply waiting for them to leave or by removing them from the rolls. Standing is determined by your status as a "beneficiary" of the church's temporalities during the period of the alleged waste.“The trustees of every religious corporation shall have the custody and control of all the temporalities and property... and shall administer the same in accordance with the discipline, rules and usages of the corporation... and for the support and maintenance of the corporation.”
New York Religious Corporations Law § 5“A member's right to inspect is not a mere privilege but a qualified right. Where a member seeks to protect the assets of the corporation from waste that occurred during their tenure, the corporation cannot defeat that right by claiming a change in membership status after the demand is made.” New York Common Law (Proper Purpose Doctrine) (also see Matter of Crane Co. v. Anaconda Co., 39 N.Y.2d 14)C. Obstruction via "Supervision": offering a 455-page forensic document for "viewing only" under the watchful eye of the very board being investigated is a "constructive refusal" that allows for immediate judicial intervention.“The right of a [member] to inspect the books and records of a corporation is absolute... and may not be conditioned on the [member] signing a confidentiality agreement or being subjected to supervised inspection.” Havlicek v. 25 Broadway Corp., 282 A.D.2d 5“Upon refusal by the corporation or by an officer or agent... to permit an inspection... the person making the demand may apply to the supreme court... for an order directing the corporation... to show cause why an order should not be granted directing such inspection.”
N-PCL § 621(d)“Where a person fails to respond to or comply with any request, notice, interrogatory, demand or order... the party seeking disclosure may move to compel compliance.”
CPLR § 3105 (Refusal to Disclose)24. The email update explicitly admitted Fount has not complied with New York State Religious Corporations Law since its inception in 2013 in the establishing of its board and bylaws. However, this is again blamed on the incompetency of the original formation service, while not naming the formation service used.25. Fount membership has declined drastically due to this. To cut costs, Manhattan Sunday services will no longer be held at the Palladium theater venue, with Easter Sunday 2026 being its last day there. Manhattan Sunday services moved to Fount offices at 421 W 54th Street.WHAT CAN I DO?To restore biblical and statutory accountability at Fount, we recommend a clear three-step response:1. STOP GIVING.
The most immediate way to signal a lack of confidence in current leadership is to withhold all financial support. Redirect your tithes to a local charity or another church until full transparency is achieved.2. DEMAND THE FULL AUDIT.
Under N-PCL § 621 and RCL § 5, all members whose tithes funded the church and the investigation have a vested legal right to a digital or physical copy of the 455-page Dentons audit. Email the pastors and the oversight nominees. Demand a copy. Not a supervised "viewing" or a redacted summary.3. FILE A FORMAL COMPLAINT.
If you believe your charitable contributions were misappropriated or that New York governance laws were violated, you should file a formal report with the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau.---CONTACT THE PROJECTIf you have documents, receipts, or firsthand accounts you wish to share, please use the secure contact form. We are committed to verifying the truth and protecting the rights of the congregation.

Report Summary

This report is a collective effort by members of the congregation to secure financial and governance transparency following the discovery of significant fiscal misappropriation and governance failure.THE CORE FINDINGS$1.4M Unaccounted Spending: A professional review by CapinCrouse identified $1.4 million in spending with no documented ministerial backup. Over $900,000 of this was identified as exclusively personal spending on the church credit card by lead pastors Josh and Georgie Kelsey (2017–2025).Illegal Governance: Since 2013, the church has operated in violation of New York Religious Corporations Law (Article 10). This includes a failure to hold mandatory annual member meetings and a failure to allow the congregation to elect an independent Board of Trustees.Conflict of Interest: The lead pastors unilaterally disbanded the independent board after the whistleblower report surfaced. They currently exercise total control over the finances, the "forensic audit" process, and the selection of their own oversight nominees.Constructive Refusal: Leadership has withheld the full 455-page forensic audit from the members who funded it. By implementing an "eyes-only" policy and refusing to provide digital or physical copies, they are violating the statutory right of members to inspect and copy corporate records.THE OBJECTIVETotal transparency. Under N-PCL § 621 and RCL § 5, all members (including those from the 2017–2025 period) have a vested legal right to a digital or physical copy of the financial records.The goal is simple: Verify the audit, establish legal bylaws, and restore statutory accountability.

WHAT CAN I DO?To restore biblical and statutory accountability at Fount, we recommend a clear three-step response:1. STOP GIVING.
The most immediate way to signal a lack of confidence in current leadership is to withhold all financial support. Redirect your tithes to a local charity or another church until full transparency is achieved.2. DEMAND THE FULL AUDIT.
Under N-PCL § 621 and RCL § 5, all members whose tithes funded the church and the investigation have a vested legal right to a digital or physical copy of the 455-page Dentons audit. Email the pastors and the oversight nominees. Demand a copy. Not a supervised "viewing" or a redacted summary.3. FILE A FORMAL COMPLAINT.
If you believe your charitable contributions were misappropriated or that New York governance laws were violated, you should file a formal report with the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau.---CONTACT THE PROJECTIf you have documents, receipts, or firsthand accounts you wish to share, please use the secure contact form. We are committed to verifying the truth and protecting the rights of the congregation.

Secure Tips & Outreach

If you have information, documents, or firsthand accounts regarding Fount’s financial or governance activities, please reach out. We are committed to verifying the truth and protecting our community.Note on Attachments: To maintain security, this form does not accept direct attachments. If you have documents or 'receipts' you wish to share, please include your email address below. You will receive a follow-up email from a secure account where you can safely attach files.