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Inspiration Network denied tax break

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INDIAN LAND, S.C. -- A serious blow to a local Christian television network could bring hundreds of thousands of dollars to a struggling county.

For the past eight months, the I-Team has been investigating the Inspiration Network in Lancaster County. We've learned the State of South Carolina has rejected the Christian network's tax-exempt status for its headquarters in Indian Land.

A dazzling display of architecture called the City of Light was paid for with millions of dollars in donations given to the Inspirational Network.

Despite appeals, the State of South Carolina rejected the network's request for tax-exempt status meaning this fall, the land, buildings and equipment in Indian Land will all be taxed.

The I-Team looked at tax records of the Inspirational Network. In 2007, the network revenue was more than $69 million.

CEO David Cerullo was paid more than $1.5 million. His wife Barbara was paid $150,000 and their kids Ben and Becky are also on the company payroll.

Warren Smith is with a watchdog group that monitors Christian organizations and said $39 million in profit over the last, from 2002 to 2006. “That's a lot of profit. That's a lot of profit."

David and Barbara Cerullo's lifestyle is one of opulence. Their south Charlotte home is valued at more than $1.6 million. But the home pales in comparison to their lakefront home near Greenville, South Carolina. The price tag for the home on Lake Keowee is $3.1 million. It appears they've spared no expense with custom woodwork, expansive rock walls, and a boat dock.

And a woman so embarrassed she didn’t want to be identified said the Cerullo's salaries are being paid for by people like her.

"I absolutely have no more faith in these types of ministries,” she said.

When she and her husband were watching evangelist Mike Murdock appeal for money on the network one night they were moved.

"We thought he was talking straight to us," she said.

While they really didn't have the money to spare, her husband called and committed to send $58 a month for 12 months.

"They take it directly out of your account, monthly, or however long you agreed to do so," she explained.

The message was you sow the seed, you'll reap the harvest. But the woman said, “Nothing he described happened."

And she says when they found themselves in deeper financial trouble she called the network to ask if they could discontinue payments. She says the answer was no.

"They told me they could back all the way to the month we called and they can read or listen to the recording to make sure that we said were going to donate for as long as we said we would," she said.

Every South Carolinian is a donor to the Inspiration Network. The network was given a $1.2 million economic development grant to help with road, water and sewer construction.

Governor Mark Sanford was at the City of Light's groundbreaking. But after our I-Team investigation questioned giving taxpayers dollars to the Inspiration Network, Sanford said, "I think there's is a legitimate question to be asked on taking taxpayer funding to fund an organization that by its nature is tax exempt itself."

Without tax exempt status for its land, buildings and equipment, the Inspirational Network will have to start paying those taxes in October.

The network will appeal, but if it loses it will mean hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in property taxes. That’s money that Lancaster County could certainly use.