The Pluralism Project at Harvard University's account of the 2005 settlement of the gurukula (boarding school) abuse litigation against the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). A federal lawsuit filed in Texas on 12 June 2000 by attorney Windle Turley sought $400 million on behalf of former students, naming ISKCON, fifteen affiliated corporations, seventeen governing body members, and the estate of founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, alleging abuse at ISKCON boarding schools in the United States and India from 1972, when the first US gurukula opened in Dallas, to around 1990. A RICO claim was dismissed by the court in 2001; ISKCON filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in 2002 while the litigation continued. A US bankruptcy court ultimately ordered a $9.5 million settlement, announced 24 May 2005, distributed to roughly 450 claimants, far more than the case's original named plaintiffs, at amounts of $2,500 to $50,000 each depending on the severity of the abuse alleged, with distribution continuing for several years afterward.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Tier 1: an academic research initiative's own reporting of a bankruptcy court settlement, cross-checked against the Washington Post's 24 May 2005 archived report ("Hare Krishna Abuse Cases Settled") and Hindu Press International's independent 26 May 2005 account, all three converging on the same $9.5 million, roughly 450 claimants, and $2,500 to $50,000 per-claimant figures. NotesContemporaneous accounts differ on the exact number of plaintiffs named in the original 2000 filing (44 in one contemporaneous news account, 91 to 92 in others); that discrepancy is recorded rather than resolved by guessing, since it does not affect the settlement figures themselves, which are consistent across every account checked.
Citation
AuthorThe Pluralism Project
PublisherHarvard University
Publication Year2005
URLhttps://pluralism.org/news/iskcon-abuse-cases-settled-usd-95-million
Source Typenews feature
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada directly: "and the estate of founder A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, alleging abuse at ISKCON boarding schools in the United States and India from 1972, when the first US gurukula opened in Dallas, to..."
This source names India directly: "schools in the United States and India from 1972, when the first US gurukula opened in Dallas, to around 1990."
This source names ISKCON directly: "Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)."
This source names Krishna directly: "against the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)."
This source names Texas directly: "A federal lawsuit filed in Texas on 12 June 2000 by attorney Windle Turley sought $400 million on behalf of former students, naming ISKCON, fifteen affiliated corporations, seventeen governing body..."
Claims Backed By This Source (41 claims)
This source backs 41 claims across the atlas. As facts: 25 well-attested. As cited relationships: 10 holds, 2 connected. Plus 4 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies, 15 claims: 9 well-attested, 5 holds, 1 general references.
- Sources, 13 claims: 8 well-attested, 5 holds.
- Articles, 9 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 connected, 2 general references.
- Denominations, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 connected, 1 general references.
Well-attested
25Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies
Holds
10Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies
General References
4Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies
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