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Andy Wingo named in harrassment suit
Published March 4, 2009
A federal lawsuit has been filed by a former employee of Angel Food Ministries who claims she was fired after refusing alleged sexual advances from Andy Wingo, a member of the ministry’s founding family.
The lawsuit from Tioni King alleges Andy Wingo, in his capacity as her supervisor, made physical advances toward her, forced her to go on company trips in an effort to put her in compromising positions, gave her cash and furniture, and e-mailed partial and completely nude pictures of himself to King during her nearly two years of employment, which the ministry ended in 2007 allegedly after King had an attorney formally notify the ministry of her harassment claims.
The suit, filed Feb. 27 in United States District Court, also names Andy Wingo’s parents, Joe and Linda Wingo, the founders of Angel Food, and his brother Wes Wingo. Angel Food Ministries and its associated companies are also named in the federal lawsuit.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for Angel Food Ministries, said a response to the lawsuit was being prepared but was not ready for release at this time.
King’s suit comes on the heels of a lawsuit two members of Angel Food’s board of directors filed Feb. 25 claiming Joe Wingo, Linda Wingo, Andy Wingo and Wes Wingo, misappropriated approximately $2.7 million from the ministry. Their lawsuit asks a judge to remove the Wingos from their leadership positions with the ministry, ban them from contact with ministry employees, appoint someone else to run the ministry and force the Wingos to repay the money the suit claims has been misappropriated.
The ministry calls the lawsuit from board members David “Tony” Prather and Craig Atnip a “power grab” by the pair who it believes are trying to publicly discredit Angel Food’s founders and gain control of the $140 million a year ministry from the Wingo family.
Both lawsuits were filed as a federal Grand Jury investigation is under way into alleged financial irregularities at the organization. In February the FBI and the IRS searched the Broad Street offices of Angel Food Ministries and the Alcovy Street offices of Good Hope Foods, owned and operated by Andy Wingo, downloading electronic files and removing other documents.
The ministry has said the board of directors and Joe Wingo as CEO have already addressed the alleged irregularities and will continue to accurately report the financial status of Angel Food as required by law.
King’s former husband, James Lee, has also filed a lawsuit against the ministry in federal court. Lee’s suit, filed in November 2008, claims he was fired after complaining about the alleged sexual harassment of his wife and three other women at the ministry by Andy Wingo.
Two other former ministry employees, James and Crystal Smith, have also filed a federal lawsuit against Angel Food, claiming they were terminated because they decided not to attend Emmanuel Praise Church, which is affiliated with Angel Food and is pastored by the Wingos. The Smith lawsuit was filed in September 2008 in U.S. District Court.
Look for more on this story in Sunday's edition of The Walton Tribune.
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