Sun Myung Moon

===''United States v. Sun Myung Moon''===
{{main|United States v. Sun Myung Moon}}

In 1982, following an [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] investigation, Moon was convicted in the United States of [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] and [[tax evasion]] by filing incorrect federal [[income tax]] returns totaling less than $8,000.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sherwood |first1=Carlton |title=[[Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon]] |last2=Regnery |first2=Alfred S. |date=1991 |isbn=978-0-89526-532-6 |page=viii |chapter=Publishers preface|publisher=Regnery Gateway }}</ref> He refused to stay in Korea and returned to the United States. His conviction was upheld on appeal in a split decision. Moon was given an 18-month sentence and a $15,000 fine. He served 13 months of the sentence at the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury]], before being released on good behavior to a [[halfway house]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/profit.htm Moon's Japanese Profits Bolster Efforts in U.S.], Washington ''Post'', 16 September 2008.</ref>

The case was the center of national [[freedom of religion]] and [[free speech]] debates.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-08-21/news/8502240616_1_religious-freedom-rev-moon-religious-leaders | work=Chicago Tribune | title=Clerics Urge Pardon For Rev. Moon | date=21 August 1985 | access-date=22 March 2012 | archive-date=22 May 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522181349/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-08-21/news/8502240616_1_religious-freedom-rev-moon-religious-leaders | url-status=dead }}</ref> Prof. [[Laurence H. Tribe]] of the [[Harvard University Law School]] argued that the trial by jury had "doomed (Moon) to conviction based on [[religious prejudice]]."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/24/nyregion/the-city-arguments-heard-in-moon-s-appeal.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Arguments Heard in Moon's Appeal | date=24 March 1983}}</ref> The [[American Baptist Church|American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.]], the [[National Council of Churches]], the [[National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus]], and the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] filed briefs in support of Moon.<ref>Raspberry, William, "Did Unpopular Moonie Get a Fair Trial?", ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 19 April 1984</ref> Many notable clergy, including [[Jerry Falwell]] and [[Joseph Lowery]], signed petitions protesting the government's case and spoke out in defense of Moon.<ref>[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/augustweb-only/8-6-35.0.html "The Unification Church Aims a Major Public Relations Effort at Christian Leaders"], ''[[Christianity Today]]'', 19 April 1985.</ref><ref>[http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1984/10/11/moons-financial-rise-and-fall-pbab/?dsq=48682316#comment-48682316 Moon's financial rise and fall], ''[[Harvard Crimson]]'', 11 October 1984.</ref> [[Carlton Sherwood]], in his book [[Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon|Inquisition]], stated that the conviction of Reverend Moon was viewed by Protestant pastors to be a humiliation of religious liberty.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sherwood |first=Carlton |title=[[Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon]] |publisher=Regnery Gateway |year=1991 |publication-place=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

After his prison sentence, Moon began calling himself humanity's [[Messiah]], and officially conferred the title of "Messiah" on himself in 1992.<ref name=NPRExpose/><ref name="NYT OBIT" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Jack |title=Moon, self-declared messiah of Unification Church |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-religion-unification-moon-obit/moon-self-declared-messiah-of-unification-church-idUKBRE8810B120120902 |access-date=13 November 2021 |work=Reuters |date=2 September 2012 |language=en}}</ref>