Revealed: senior US Brethren figure put $500,000 into bail for church member now convicted of killing four in Dayton crash
Jeff Southard, registered agent of both the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church in Ohio and Rapid Relief Team LLC, contributed $500,000 to Clayton Hughes' $2.5 million bail and wrote in support of easing his conditions. Hughes, married to Southard's niece, pleaded no contest last week to killing four men. He is sentenced on 8 September.
Read the exclusive →Inside the PBCC Ecosystem: 15 Departments, One Global Machine
A full breakdown of the Plymouth Brethren's complex commercial structure, from UBT and the Global Funding Team to OneSchool Global, Campus & Co and the Rapid Relief Team. How money and authority flows upward to the church's Elect Vessel, Bruce Hales.
Read the full investigation →-
Politics$655,000 to Advance Australia: PBCC Election Donations Revealed
AEC records disclose at least five PBCC members donated $655,000 to the group backing Peter Dutton's election campaign.
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CharityRapid Relief Team: A Conflict of Interest?
How the RRT charity invested in a business owned by a UK Brethren leader's family while he served as its trustee.
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CrimeBrethren Criminality: Impersonation, Abuse and Double Standards
A documented record of PBCC members' criminal convictions and the inconsistency in how the church responds.
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PlanningPurchasing a Pub: A 400-Year Community Asset Lost to the PBCC
The Plough Inn at Kington Langley was acquired by Brethren members during Covid and transferred to the Down Gospel Trust.
Exclusive Brethren secretly paid far-right activists to disrupt the federal election
A major investigation reports that senior Brethren figures paid cash to far-right agitators to heckle and track Labor, Greens and independent candidates during the 2025 campaign, using outsiders to keep the church's hand hidden. Sante Global is named as a conduit, elders are said to have followed the prime minister's plane using flight-tracking apps, and Advance is reported to have received $655,000 from Brethren businessmen. The church denies any involvement. The Australian Electoral Commission has confirmed it is examining the church and related entities and individuals.
Read in The Age →
The Chain: election money stands two steps from Bruce Hales
Nine people organised or funded the political campaign. In our assessment every one of them traces back to Bruce Hales or his church, through companies he audits, businesses his sons run, trusts and family ties. Between 2004 and 2025 the money totals more than $1.2 million. Follow each chain, link by link.
Read the investigation →
