Jerry Falwell Jr., the evangelical leader and president of Virginia's Liberty University, signed off on multiple real estate transactions by the school that benefited his personal trainer, Reuters reports.
Reuters looked at real estate records and internal Liberty emails and interviewed several people with knowledge of the matter. In 2011, Falwell and his wife, Rebecca, began personal training sessions with Benjamin Crosswhite, a recent Liberty graduate. In an email that same year, Falwell encouraged school personnel to cut Crosswhite a "sweet deal" on an 18-acre sports and fitness facility owned by Liberty, Reuters reports.
In 2016, Falwell approved a $1.2 million real estate deal transferring the property to Crosswhite. Under the terms, Crosswhite did not have to put any money down, and Liberty credited Crosswhite nearly $650,000, as the school planned on using the property's tennis courts through 2025, Reuters reports. Crosswhite received financing at a 3 percent interest rate, and last year, after a local bank approved a $2 million line of credit for Crosswhite, Liberty University filed paperwork saying the $576,000 he owed had been paid off.
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Crosswhite told Reuters he wouldn't comment on the deal. Liberty released a statement saying the property was donated to the school in 2011 by a trustee, and was a "drain on university resources." Because Crosswhite started leasing the property in 2013, he was "the most viable purchaser," Liberty added.
This isn't the first financial move made by Falwell to come under scrutiny. In 2012, Falwell and his wife met a 21-year-old pool attendant in Miami, and went on to invest in a gay-friendly South Beach youth hostel, naming the pool attendant co-manager. Falwell is also a major supporter of President Trump, and Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, said in 2015 he helped the Falwells bury risqué photos connected to a dispute involving the pool attendant and the hostel.
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