Pastors blessed the investment business
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The Slavic Sacramento received documents that shed light on the involvement of the leadership and members of the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church in a large-scale financial investment.
According to what appears to be an accounting report of one of the church pastors, Nikolay Feitser, provided to Slavic Sacramento, over $14 million was invested by immigrant community members, who are associated with the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church and other Slavic churches in the U.S. (from 2004 to at least 2010) into the healthcare industry. According to this document, approximately 150 people (many of whom appear to be pastors and members of ethnic religious organizations) invested in the acquisition and operation of medical equipment for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) centers, as well as in a number of other healthcare businesses.
If you didn’t know, the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church in Sacramento is the largest Russian-speaking evangelical religious association in the U.S. The head of this church was at that time Adam Bondaruk, who also was a Bishop of the Union of Christians of the Evangelical Faith of the USA.
Pastor Nikolay Feitser at that time was one of the main pastors and administrators of Bethany Slavic Missionary Church as well as an entrepreneur. When traveling around the United States, Bishop Adam Bondaruk recommended Feitser as a successful businessman and reliable partner. (It is worth noting that since Nikolay Feitser passed away in 2019, his sons continue business activities in Northern California.)
Slavic Sacramento discovered a video in which Adam Bondaruk walks with Nikolay Feitser, and other Slavic pastors from across the United States into what appears to be a newly built MRI-clinic in San Bernardino county and blesses Feitser’s business venture in the prayer:
“O Lord, give strength to the work of our hands!” – says Adam Bondaruk, lifting up his hands in the air.
The San Bernardino project was one of the business ventures of Nikolay Feitser and Peter Solodko. Mutually they organized and operated dozens of medical companies across the country, including Ambulatory Services Corporation (ASC), Capital Imaging and Medevelop, LLC.
Slavic Sacramento was provided with a copy of a confidential memorandum prepared for one of the investors, who invested a hefty amount of money in the Medevelop company.
According to the terms of the company’s memorandum, the money was anticipated to go to the development of a magnetic resonance imaging center in La Quinta, CA. The CEO of ASC was а Russian-speaking immigrant named Peter Solodko. Nikolay Feitser served as a Secretary and later on an Executive Vice President of this company.
In 2008, the umbrella company Ambulatory Services Corporation was reorganized and Consolidated Healthcare Services (CHS) became the manager of most of dozens of Solodko’s companies.
$14.5 million invested in the healthcare project
According to the accounting information of Consolidated Healthcare Services (CHS), part of which came to Slavic Sacramento, members and a number of pastors of the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church and believers from other states invested about $14.5 million in the project for the purchase of expensive medical equipment. As it follows from the registration documents of the state of California, Peter Solodko, an entrepreneur from Florida, was named as the manager of CHS.
The source in the Bethany church shared with Slavic Sacramento a document, which appears to be a letter signed by Nikolay Feitser and sent to the investors, and, apparently, financial investments from tight knit religious community were flocking to pastor Nikolay.
Bethany Slavic Missionary Church connection
According to the list received by Slavic Sacramento, dozens of members of the Bethany church and other immigrant churches of America invested in the business of Solodko and Feitser and their business partners. This list contains names of ministers of the Bethany church and other churches in the United States loyal to Bishop Bondaruk. Some invested $50,000 in Feitser’s project, and others – up to half a million dollars. Money was sent mainly from the West, including Colorado, Idaho, Washington and, of course, from California.
According to the list, Bishop Adam Bondaruk himself invested $250,000 in the healthcare project.
As per the same document, the sum of $14,450,000 was raised for the project. The money was anticipated to be spent on the activities of such companies as Hallmark MRI, Medevelop, Prumed, which were accountable to CHS.
As it follows from the memorandum, investors were promised to receive the dividends as stipulated in the terms of the contract.
Diagnostic centers
The money given by the private investors was anticipated for the purchase of equipment and the arrangement of this network of diagnostic centers, which, according to the statements of businessmen, in fiscal year 2014 brought about $20 million as a revenue.
Those who invested in one of the companies – Capital Imaging, located in Renton (Washington state) were given limited rights to own a share of the company. Investors were not allowed to sell, buy or transfer Capital Imaging shares to others without the special permission of the manager of this company.
“As of December 31, 2014 the Company’s (CHS) owned and operated 26 diagnostic MRI imaging centers (in Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas) and 1 diagnostic center in Florida. The company’s diagnostic imaging centers experienced an overall increase from 42,731 scans during the 2013 calendar year (with 26 diagnostic imaging centers at year end) to 44,354 scans during 2014 calendar year (with 27 diagnostic imaging centers at year end)” Peter Solodko disclosed in company’s report on June 2015.
The rich get richer
According to the Assessor of the County of Sacramento, the former senior pastor of the Bethany Church, Adam Bondaruk was involved in the real estate business. His youngest son Ben Bondaruk is also very actively involved in the real estate business along with one of the sons of Nikolay Feitser – Paul Feitser.
For example, just last year realtor Ben Bondaruk listed one of Paul Feitser’s houses in Sacramento for $2,7M.
Neither Ben Bondaruk, nor Paul Feitser provided any comment in connection with this article.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
(Matthew 6:19-34)
Nikolay Feitser died on October 19, 2019, and was buried in the cemetery of the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church. The Californian division of CHS was liquidated a year later.
Bishop Adam Bondaruk died on August 14, 2022 in Sacramento, Ca. According to the Sacramento Coroner’s office, his cause of death was ruled as a suicide.
Opposite to the postulates of Christianity, pastors of nowadays strive to build an “earthly kingdom” placing their hope in abundance and luxury instead of storing up for themselves treasures in heaven.
The CHS’s president Peter Solodko was reached out for a comment, but according to his attorney, he declined to comment.
The Bethany Slavic Missionary Church administration was given a chance to make a statement or provide a comment as well, but our multiple requests remained unanswered.
This story was supported by Fund for Investigative Journalism. Special thanks for the legal support to Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
