Jason Scott is a former member of a controversial religious group whose lawsuits over his attempted deprogramming bankrupted the anti-cult activist Rick Ross and led to the bankruptcy of the Cult Awareness Network (CAN), at that time one of the world's largest cult-monitoring organizations. ^*

Jason Scott was an 18-year-old member of the Life Tabernacle Church (affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church International) when Scott's mother, Katherine Tonkin, left the church she had brought her three sons into, due to concerns about the means the church used to keep members in line, their focus on material donation to the church, and a relationship between an elder church member and one of Jason's two younger brothers, both minors. After leaving the church herself, and on the suggestion of the Cult Awareness Network, whom she called, she asked Ross to assist her in the deprogramming of her two minor sons. After speaking with Ross, the two minors chose to leave the church.

Tonkin then made an attempt, again with the help of Ross, to provide a similar intervention for Jason. Because Jason was not a minor, Katherine Tonkin had no legal authority to compel him to stay in a place outside the church's influence, or to talk with someone who was not church-approved. In 1991, Ross and two associates therefore abducted Jason and held him for five days, in the belief that his "voluntary" refusal to leave the church or hear any criticism of it was actually due to the church exerting unhealthy influence over his mind, and that asking him penetrating questions about the church would free him from that influence.

The deprogramming attempt was unsuccessful, and criminal charges were brought against Ross and two others for unlawful imprisonment of Jason during the deprogramming, charges that were filed, dropped, and then re-filed two years later. The trial ended in acquittal for Ross, but a civil suit was then filed, with long-time counsel for the Church of Scientology Kendrick Moxon representing Jason Scott. This suit ended in Ross and the Cult Awareness Network being ordered to pay large settlement amounts (Ross was ordered to pay more than $3 million in damages; CAN was ordered to pay in excess of $1 million); the suit pushed Ross into bankruptcy, from which he later emerged, and along with over 50 similar suits (most of them brought by Moxon) pushed CAN into bankruptcy, where its name, its logo and its files were considered assets, assets then purchased by the Church of Scientology. Despite the fact that she had initiated and funded the deprogramming attempt, no attempt was ever made to sue Katherine Tonkin.

In December 1996, Scott reconciled with his mother and settled with Ross for $5,000, and for 200 hours of Ross's services "as an expert consultant and intervention specialist". Moxon was fired the next day, Scott retaining long-time Church of Scientology opponent Graham Berry as his lawyer instead. Moxon, who had argued in the case that Ross and associates had hindered a competent adult's freedom to make his own religious decisions, immediately filed court papers seeking to appoint a guardian for Scott, whom he called "incapacitated", and rescind the settlement. That effort failed. ^*

Jason Scott's current activities are unknown.

External links

• The court affidavit of Katherine Tonkin

Cults