Miami retiree signs away Caribbean real estate to TV ministry, triggers generational property dispute

Reclining in his Miami home, retired U.S. Army Colonel David Lawrence Adderley faced the television screen through which he watched countless Christian programs on Three Angels Broadcasting Network. The lifelong Seventh-day Adventist expressed regret as he reflected on a real estate transaction he made with the nonprofit network, known as 3ABN, which pitches charitable trust opportunities to the faithful.

The land in dispute is on Long Island, Bahamas. Adderley’s grandfather, Lawrence Wellington Adderley, the grandson of a former slave, purchased the property piece by piece over his lifetime and left it to his 12 children, Adderley family members say.

David Adderley, who is legally blind and has dual citizenship in the United States and The Bahamas, said he inherited the land from his father and intended to donate one to two acres to Adventists for a sanctuary and other religious purposes. He alleges 3ABN executives misled him into signing away some 400 acres for a fraction of the property’s estimated $23 million to $32 million value.

“It was just so confusing for me,” said Adderley, now 86, as he reflected on signing various documents that gave 3ABN possession of the oceanfront property that had been in his family for four generations.

The dispute has pitted Adderley and his family against a global televangelical network, stoked the suspicions of Bahamians wary of foreigners stripping locals of generational property, and raised questions about the tactics used by an independent, nonprofit Christian ministry with close ties to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a denomination with deep and growing roots in the Caribbean.

David Adderley’s daughter, Krystal Adderley, who lives near her father in suburban Miami, said 3ABN “took advantage of” him. “If they’re Christian, they should want to pay my father what that property was actually worth.”

3ABN obtained the real estate through an irrevocable trust agreement David Adderley signed in 2011 and a lawsuit settlement he agreed to in 2020. Questions remain about whether Adderley relatives in The Bahamas have a claim to the property, a dispute now pending in the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Mysterious neighbors

Long Island, a narrow swath of land about 80 miles long and home to 3,000 residents, is a place where locals take pride in family heritage, foreigners find solitude in the laid-back Caribbean lifestyle, and island gossip spreads like wildfire through the balmy tropical breeze.

In recent years, locals have watched with curiosity as “No Trespassing” signs, security cameras, a chain link fence, and new dirt roads appeared on the Adderley property. Most noticeably, a deck emerged on the beachfront, offering a breathtaking view of the prismatic blue waters.

At Erica’s Bakery & Shop, a popular store with everything from bug spray to freshly-baked coconut cake, owner Erica Darville said the situation is a hot topic of conversation on the island.

“They had [construction] equipment and everything come from far away, and nobody knows what’s going on,” Darville said. “When I was a little girl, we used to go in the back there, fishing and camping. But when they came, they blocked the road off so nobody had access.”

At the center of the dispute is Danny Shelton, who founded 3ABN 40 years ago in a small Illinois town with his second wife, Linda Shelton. Rising from humble beginnings, the Sheltons turned 3ABN into a powerful media outreach ministry, but not without controversy .

Despite stepping down twice as president, Danny Shelton remains a central figure at 3ABN, hosting programs, promoting books and singing gospel favorites. Now a 3ABN business consultant, he remains the highest-paid person listed on 3ABN’s non-profit tax filings and the first leader listed on the ministry’s website .

Shelton and his fourth wife, Yvonne, founder of 3ABN’s Dare to Dream Network, have established themselves on the island. They are now permanent residents of The Bahamas, living in a yellow house with a white lattice fence and spectacular Atlantic ocean view.

As residents of Turtle Cove, a subdivision adjacent to the world-famous Dean’s Blue Hole dive site, the Sheltons’ neighbors are expats from the United States, Europe and other parts of the world.

Some neighbors interviewed for this article said Danny Shelton has been flying in friends and associates from the United States in an effort to sell portions of the Adderley property for residential development. They said he told them he also plans to build a health and wellness facility of some kind.

Shelton has been managing the Adderley estate in The Bahamas with the help of former Long Island Police Superintendent Warren Rodgers. Twenty years ago, Rodgers kept an eye on the property for David Adderley. Today, he works as a security subcontractor for 3ABN, preventing Adderleys from accessing the former land. Tensions have flared, with the family accusing Shelton and Rodgers of having relatives who try to access the property arrested.

READ MORE: Scandals over the years at the Christian TV ministry known as 3ABN

The Sheltons’ neighbors, Travis and Betsy Hoffman, said they moved from southern Illinois to Long Island to live in “paradise.” They said they try to mind their own business, but the controversy has been hard to ignore.

“No locals are happy about this,” Travis Hoffman said. “They think he (Shelton) is stealing the land.”

Requests for interviews with Shelton and other 3ABN leaders were referred to Minnesota attorney M. Gregory Simpson, who replied to emailed questions. Simpson denied all allegations against the network, saying 3ABN did not mislead David Adderley or mistreat the family in The Bahamas.

According to Simpson, 3ABN verified that Adderley had clear title to the land.

He said the trust agreement “was read to Mr. Adderley in its entirety. Mr. Adderley was vision-impaired, but the extent of his impairment was never precisely determined. He had a device with which he could read documents in his home.”

Simpson said 3ABN advised Adderley to get his own attorney to help him with the trust agreement. Adderley did not, despite the staggering volume and value of the land involved.

“He trusted them”

According to Simpson, the transaction began when Adderley made an “unsolicited call” to the ministry in July 2011, saying he owned land on Long Island and wanted to donate to 3ABN in a “way that would allow him to achieve both tax benefits and income.”

A month later, Roy Hunt, Jr., 3ABN’s director of planned giving & trust services, headed to Miami to help Adderley sign an irrevocable trust agreement with 3ABN, court records show.

Five months later, according to documents filed in Miami federal court, Hunt was back in Miami to take Adderley to the Bahamian consulate in Miami to execute and notarize three “indentures of conveyance” transferring the Bahamas property to the trust. That same day, he resigned as trustee. Under the terms of the trust agreement Adderley signed six months earlier, that meant 3ABN became trustee.

The trust was an irrevocable Charitable Remainder Unitrust or CRUT. This is a type of trust where a donor is able to get some income and tax benefits by transferring an asset to a charitable organization. Typically, the asset would produce some amount of income, a portion of which would then be transferred to the donor on a fixed annual schedule.

The problem with the Adderley CRUT is that the land wasn’t generating income and there was no requirement that 3ABN sell it or develop it within a certain period of time, experts consulted by the Miami Herald said.

“If there’s no income, you get nothing,” said Pamela Harrigan-Young, an estate planning attorney based in Raleigh, North Carolina. “It is a disincentive for the charity to sell and that is a shame.”

If the property had been sold, however, Harrigan-Young said, the charity could have been on the hook to pay Adderley back for the years he didn’t get income, based on the value of the sale.

Simpson said Adderley understood the terms of the trust and that the property “had to be marketed and sold for the trust to have any money with which to make any payment. Mr. Adderley was then to receive income from the CRUT during his lifetime, and upon his death, 3ABN would receive the remainder.”

Simpson said 3ABN made several attempts to sell the property, but all were unsuccessful.

Seven years after entering the 2011 trust agreement with 3ABN, Adderley sought to overturn it. He hired Miami attorney Ross Kulberg and filed suit in Miami federal court, arguing that he was legally blind and did not realize what he was signing, and that 3ABN misled him about the terms of the trust.

“Adderley had a heightened level of trust in Hunt and 3ABN,” the lawsuit alleged. “He trusted them to be truthful and moral in character because he thought Hunt and 3ABN were working in conjunction with the beliefs, doctrines and mission of his Church.”

TIMELINE: How a TV ministry took over a family’s 400-acre Bahamas estate for a fraction of its value

The suit, initially filed in 2018 and amended in 2019, named as defendants 3ABN, Hunt, and Shelton, as well as James Gilley, at the time 3ABN president and now deceased, and Richard Barry Benton, an attorney working for 3ABN.

Hunt testified that Adderley was “bound and determined to sell the property for $30 million.” He said an appraisal commissioned by 3ABN put the value at $22.9 million in November 2012. In his lawsuit, Adderley claimed the property was worth $32 million.

According to records filed in the suit, Benton prepared a document for Adderley showing that, with his gift valued at $30 million, he could make $1.5 million a year from the deal and take major tax deductions, but that would only come if the property was sold and the proceeds invested.

Regarding the amount Adderley expected to receive, Simpson stated in an email: “Mr. Adderley was never told that he would receive $1.5 million annually.”

In court, 3ABN argued to dismiss the suit. U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. agreed that Adderley failed to do his due diligence in understanding the terms of the agreement he signed, but declined to dismiss several claims against 3ABN - among them civil theft and exploitation of an elderly person.

Those claims were never tried. The case was voluntarily dismissed in 2020, when Adderley and 3ABN agreed to settle. The network would pay Adderley $3 million for full ownership of the land, and Adderley would recant his allegations against 3ABN.

Simpson would not disclose or verify the terms of the settlement. Adderley’s daughter, Krystal Adderley, said it amounted to about 10 percent of the value of the property, and much of that went to attorney’s fees.

David Adderley, whose memory now comes and goes, told a reporter he felt overwhelmed by all of the legal maneuvers. So, he said, “I just got out of it.”

Conflicts flare over generational property

To Adderley relatives in the Bahamas, 3ABN’s possession of the land came as an unwelcome surprise.

“My granddaddy always said it was generational property,” said Christine Adderley-Smith of Nassau, David Adderley’s cousin. “It was where the males back in the day would get married, and their dads would give them property to build on the farm because that’s what most of the island folks did.”

Adderley-Smith said most family members left the island for Nassau or the United States years ago. Her brother, Ambrose, now 53, was the only one still living on the property, where he raised sheep and goats and grew watermelons, pineapples and pumpkins. When relatives came to town, Ambrose was the one who took them around and made them feel like they were still connected to the island.

Adderley-Smith said she did not know 3ABN had possession of the property until December 2022, when friends contacted her about a dispute between Ambrose and 3ABN representatives.

According to the family, Ambrose found himself unexpectedly barred from the property when he returned from a two-month stay in Nassau, where he had gone for treatment of a leg injury. When he arrived, he found a sign in front of the property: “Private Property. No Trespassing. Violators Will Be Prosecuted.”

Ambrose Adderley described the incident in Bahamian court papers, stating Rodgers told him Shelton did not want him on the land. Ambrose requested papers confirming Shelton’s legal possession of the property, but the documents were not provided and he was told to vacate the property or be arrested.

In an interview with a reporter, Ambrose said he became angry, tried to burn down the no-trespassing sign and was arrested. In a more recent incident this spring, Ambrose’s niece was briefly arrested for damaging a security camera, according to Adderley-Smith and other relatives.

Simpson, the attorney representing 3ABN, denied Ambrose Adderley’s allegations. He said network representatives maintained a friendly relationship with him in the past, which included hiring him on numerous occasions to do work on the property. “3ABN has given him clothing, food, and a bicycle, and on one occasion 3ABN paid for his flight to Nassau for medical care,” he stated.

The controversy sparked a backlash against Rodgers among some Bahamians on social media. A political activist in The Bahamas, Lincoln Bain, posted a live video on Facebook last fall, urging Bahamians on Long Island to fight 3ABN’s possession of the land.

“3ABN, Danny Shelton, or whoever, don’t own the property yet,” he said. “Long Islanders go and kick that sign down now. Pull that up, uproot that. Y’all stand up. What kind of nonsense is this?”

Rodgers denied destroying Ambrose Adderley’s animals and crops and said he has had no influence over the police force. In his role as 3ABN’s security detail, Rodgers said, he put up 30 “No Trespassing” signs on the property, and the one Ambrose vandalized cost $700.

“If you own your property and house, would you allow anybody with free will just to come onto your house or property? I don’t think so,” he said. “It’s private property, and it belongs to 3ABN.”

Bahamian relatives fight back

In an effort to obtain clear title to the property, 3ABN in March 2023 filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under the Quieting Titles Act of 1959. The petition gave anyone who believed they had legal right to the property 30 days to file a claim.

Adderley relatives in The Bahamas filed a claim on behalf of Ambrose Adderley. In August 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that a surveyor could access the land to assess Ambrose’s claim and determine the number of acres. A hearing is scheduled for October, according to Adderley-Smith.

In written statements to the court, the family argued that the land had been Ambrose’s home for decades. It was a place where he and his sister harvested and exported the bark of cascarilla trees, known for medicinal properties. Hurricane Irene destroyed much of that business in 2011, they said, but Ambrose continued farming the land.

Relatives involved in the Quieting Title case said David Adderley had no right to transfer the property to 3ABN, alleging that his father fraudulently obtained the land by misrepresenting his birth order. According to relatives, the true eldest son was a baby born out of wedlock, before Adderley’s father was born.

David Adderley’s daughter, Krystal Adderley, said her grandfather received “Letters of Administration” from the Supreme Court of The Bahamas, giving him the legal right to settle his father’s estate. She said her grandfather conveyed several of the properties to himself and her father while he was still living, so that when he died the properties automatically transferred to her father.

Krystal said she supports her cousin Ambrose’s efforts to retain the land, even if it means her father will never regain the property.

“I don’t care what happens in the end as long as my family is back on that land and 3ABN is gone (because) what they did is wrong,” she said. “I recognize as somebody in America that a lot of African American people don’t have a lot of things like this. So it brings me joy and pride to know that I had a great-grandfather who did something for the betterment of his family. That’s generational property.”

While visiting the Bahamas in May, a reporter stopped by the government house on Long Island in an attempt to interview Long Island Administrator Jandilee Archer about 3ABN’s possession of the property, the treatment of family by law enforcement, and the quieting title case. Archer said she could not comment on the controversy and referred the reporter to the Bahamian attorney general’s office in Nassau. Calls to the AG’s and prime minister’s offices were not returned.

Simpson said the network acquired the land legally. “When David (Adderley) conveyed his Long Island property to 3ABN, he believed he was its sole owner,” Simpson said. “After a thorough survey and expert research into old land records, 3ABN concluded that David was correct: Nobody else appeared to have a claim of ownership on the land.”

“3ABN plans to establish clear title to the property it acquired from Mr. Adderley through the Bahamian quieting title process,” Simpson said. “It is hoped that the sale proceeds realized from this property will help 3ABN spread its message of truth, hope and inspiration.”

“Chosen by God”

3ABN’s Adventist-themed programming is popular in Latin America and the Caribbean, home to a deep and growing Adventist community. The network, based in the southern Illinois town of West Frankfort, broadcasts and streams around the world 24 hours a day.

3ABN is financially and legally independent of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but the network features prominent Adventist preachers and programs on its TV, radio and internet channels, and employs many of the Adventist faith.

As a nonprofit, the media ministry relies on tens of millions of dollars from its planned giving and trust services that it promotes on its broadcasts and in Adventist churches.

A statement in the “about us” section of the network’s website reads: “We believe 3ABN has leaders chosen by God to guide this ministry for His glory.” The site features Danny Shelton’s story of how he, a carpenter and musician, was inspired by divine intervention to build a network to spread the message of the three angels who urge people to turn to God or face judgment in Revelation 14 of the Bible. Three Angels Broadcasting Network grew into a global operation that reported $72.1 million in assets in 2022.

Current 3ABN President Greg Morikone and his wife, Jill Morikone, vice president and COO, have remained silent about the controversy involving the Adderley property.

In late June, several leaders representing the Seventh-day Adventist Church in The Bahamas attended a 3ABN rally at Hillview Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nassau . The event featured some of the network’s most popular personalities, including the Sheltons, the Morikones, and Christian gospel vocalists Reggie and Ladye Love Smith.

3ABN representatives in attendance gushed over the beautiful Bahamian beaches and shared inspirational testimonies about Shelton’s launch of the media ministry 40 years ago and the many lives changed as a result.

Shelton stepped up to the podium and pulled out his Bahamian residency card, which ignited cheers and applause from the audience.

“Yvonne and I, when we would come to The Bahamas, we’d say, ‘Why aren’t we citizens of the Bahamas? All of these people are getting to enjoy all of this, especially in the winter time,’ ” he said, jokingly. “So the Lord worked it out.”

Shelton spoke of bringing visitors to the country. “Hope you don’t mind me bringing these foreigners from America, too, with us,” he said. “But we feel at home, and we’re so blessed.”

There was no mention of the hundreds of acres 3ABN possesses on Long Island, the network’s plans for the property, or the simmering dispute over its title.

Raising biblical concerns

Some Adventists in the United States interviewed for this report questioned the tactics 3ABN has used in the Caribbean country, considering its colonial and slave history. As members of a global church with the vast majority of its members in Africa, the Caribbean islands, and Latin America, they said Adventist leaders — whether working directly for the church or as independent ministries — should exhibit cultural sensitivity and Christian love and grace.

The racial and cultural aspects of the case are hard to ignore, said Carmela Monk-Crawford, a Maryland journalist and attorney who focuses on social justice issues.

“That is the historical context and the cultural backdrop against which many will evaluate this huge transfer of Black family land to [a Christian ministry], the face of which, at least in this case, is white,” she said. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone. That’s this family’s inheritance, economic independence, nest egg, generational wealth, and let’s face it, power. Everyone involved should take a long, hard look at these implications.”

Yi-Shen Ma, assistant professor and associate director of the Center for Christian Bioethics at Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution in California, said the land dispute raises questions about not only what is legally permissible, but what is just and right.

“Religious leaders often receive the benefit of the doubt on account of their public demonstration of piety. Thus, Christians should rightly hold them to a higher standard,” he said. “The tactic of utilizing a complicated legal web is reminiscent of those teachers of the law in Jesus’ time who leveraged their legal expertise to cheat widows out of their property.”

Ted Ramirez, an Ohio attorney with 45 years of experience in nonprofit governance who has served the Seventh-day Adventist church on boards at all levels of the denomination, said: “3ABN’s reasoning and court tactics may be legal, but the facts reported leave one to wonder at the ethics of a gospel ministry engaging in such complex business with a blind octogenarian who struggles with memory. One hopes that Adventists will be able to distance our name from this.”

3ABN has remained publicly quiet about the controversy. Yet, in September 2023, a day after the issue was first exposed by Spectrum , an independent magazine published by Adventists, Shelton addressed inheritance disputes at a 3ABN event.

During a presentation titled “Doctrine of Demons,” he and his wife, Yvonne, warned those in the audience they might be bullied and attacked for taking a stand for what’s right. He used as an example children trying to revoke wills and trusts their parents set up with 3ABN and other organizations.

“They are so upset because mom and dad won’t change the will; they tell them, ‘We’re putting you in a nursing home unless you give us all this money instead of giving it to 3ABN, or the church, or whatever,’” he said. “... After they die, they get upset. Well, it’s our fiduciary responsibility to do what? … to carry out the will of the person who put the will with us.”

Shelton said the children then threaten to sue. But it “usually doesn’t work,” he said. “So what do they do? They go into the chat rooms, to the gossip pages, to the gossip magazines and start spreading all the evil they can do.

“Well, we used to, like, really defend ourselves,” he continued. “That doesn’t work. Can’t win an argument with the Devil. So we’re learning more and more to stay back and let what happens, happen.”

McClatchy and Miami Herald Investigative Reporter Ben Wieder contributed to this report.

Alva James Johnson is a freelance journalist in Collegedale, Tennessee, where she also works as an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Southern Adventist University.

This article was published in partnership with Spectrum , an independent magazine published by Adventists.