(TargetDailyNews.com) – Plaintiffs suing the Church of Scientology for harassment are asking the court to name the church as an official “criminal enterprise” due to patterns of alleged racketeering and other criminal behavior. They’ve additionally named actor Danny Masterson and church leader David Miscavige as defendants in the suit.
In their amended complaint, the plaintiffs alleged Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) violations including three additional allegations of rape against Masterson.
The amended allegations were filed on December 27th, and there is a current trial scheduled for late September 2025. The laundry list of accusations is extensive, and this is far from the first time the church has come under legal scrutiny.
Plaintiffs allege money laundering, fraud, identity theft, and human trafficking – all of which benefit the higher members of the organization while protecting them from legal scrutiny. They point to Miscavige as the boss of the criminal organization.
The church responded to the allegations as “complete fabrications” and accused the plaintiffs of attempting a “money grab.” The suit was initiated roughly five years prior and originally accused the organization of surveillance, harassment, and harm to pets of the women who accused Masterson of rape.
The new amended version added previously undisclosed allegations of sexual assault by Masterson and highlights how the church worked tirelessly to cover up his misdeeds and attempted to intimidate his victims.
Another case involving former church member Leah Remini suggested the organization had similarly attempted to cover up circumstances surrounding a knife attack in Sidney, Australia in 2019 that it blamed on Remini.
Masterson was convicted in June 2023 on rape charges brought by two women who alleged the events occurred in his home in Los Angeles in 2003. His sentencing in September resulted in a prison sentence of 30 years to life and his wife of almost 12 years, Bijou Phillips, filed a divorce in the following weeks.
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