By Andria Simmons The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Creditors changed the locks and sent more than a dozen priests packing Monday after a federal bankruptcy judge cleared the way for a foreclosure sale of the Hindu Temple of Georgia.

Judge James E. Massey also asked a U.S. trustee in charge of the case to have the FBI investigate potential criminal wrongdoing by temple leaders. 

Anderson Lake Properties has been authorized to advertise the property at 5900 Brook Hollow Parkway in Norcross for a December auction. However, the judge still has to grant final approval before a sale can take place, said Paul Durdaller, the attorney representing Anderson Lake Properties.

The decision to lift a temporary stay on the foreclosure came after Massey found the temple in contempt of court for failing to hand over requested financial documents. Creditors were allowed to proceed immediately to the property after the hearing to secure any assets.

The temple's leader and self-proclaimed guru, Annamalai Annamalai, sped out of the temple parking lot in a white van Monday afternoon without commenting to reporters. Priests who lingered outside the building with their suitcases, waiting for rides, also declined to speak about the case.

The judge's ruling was the latest of several blows threatening to topple the empire of Annamalai, who goes by the name Dr. Commander Selvam. The temple had sought bankruptcy protection in September to stave off foreclosure after it defaulted on a $2.3 million loan for its $5 million facility in Norcross.

Annamalai also was arrested last year on charges related to theft and practicing medicine without a license. Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter later dropped the charges, saying there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute Annamalai.

Since then, lawyers for Annamalai and the temple have filed more than 30 lawsuits in various county courts, as well as federal court and in India. Most of the lawsuits target former devotees, alleging either defamation or failure to pay fees for religious rituals.

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Hindu temple in Ga. files for bankruptcy

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By Andria Simmons


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Hindu Temple of Georgia is broke.

Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com Dr. Commander Selvam inside Shiva temple at the Hindu Temple of Georgia in Norcross.

The temple’s $5-million, nine-acre property at 5900 Brook Hollow Parkway in Norcross was slated to be auctioned with foreclosed properties in Gwinnett County on Tuesday. The foreclosure notice said the temple defaulted on a $2.3-million bank loan. However, the foreclosure was put on hold when the temple filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, according to Greg Brown, a spokesman for the temple.

“Our Norcross property, like many in America recently, is currently in foreclosure,” Brown said. “We are working diligently to remedy the situation and we feel confident that we will.”

Brown said temple activities will not be interrupted by the financial turmoil.

The Hindu Temple of Georgia has been on the skids since its controversial leader, Annamalai Annamalai, who goes by the name of “Dr. Commander Selvam,” was arrested in October on charges of financial transaction card theft and practicing medicine without a license. The temple’s chief priest, Lakshmanan Viswanathan, also was arrested in September for allegedly making false statements to police.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter dropped the charges against Annamalai in July, saying there was insufficient evidence to link Annamalai to disputed credit card usages. Porter also said the state law for practicing medicine without a license provides an exception for religious healers. The charge against Viswanathan is pending.

Annamalai told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in July that the controversy surrounding his arrest had put a strain on temple finances and scared away followers. He said about 1,000 people a week frequented the temple last year but that by this summer, the visitors had dwindled to one or two a month.

J. Scott Trubey of the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported, first, on August 14th, 2009, that the Hindu Temple of Georgia and Community Center was suing Haven Trust Bank, the FDIC and Andersen Lake LLP . Honorable Judge Batten, US District Court (North Atlanta) ruled against the Hindu Temple of Georgia.

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By Andria Simmons

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dr. Commander Selvam says he is a guru, a Hindu spiritual leader who helps people through their difficulties. But the founder of the Hindu Temple of Georgia — whose real name is Annamalai Annamalai — has had difficulties of his own in recent months.

Enlarge photo

Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com Dr. Commander Selvam leaves the temple with worshippers.

Enlarge photo

Hyosub Shin/Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com Commander Selvam, whose real name is Annamalai Annamalai, poses for a portrait at the Hinud Temple of Georgia that he founded.

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He was arrested in Gwinnett County in October on charges of theft and practicing medicine without a license. One woman alleged that he charged $1,751 to her credit card without her permission. Another woman said he doled out medical advice to her.

The charges were dropped this month because Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said there was insufficient evidence to link Annamalai to the credit card charges. Porter also said the state law for practicing medicine without a license provides an exception for religious healers.

In his first public interview last week, Annamalai said the case was based upon a misunderstanding about his religious practices.

“I never did anything wrong,” he said.

Yet some people are still baffled that the self-proclaimed guru escaped criminal prosecution. They say he overcharged them for rituals and other spiritual services and harassed them when they refused to pay.

“This guy — we don’t know how to stop him,” said Sandhya Shastri of Asheville, N.C. “There are so many of us, and we have been going through this over and over again.”

Shastri said the temple charged her credit card without authorization last year for a total of $4,000 after she went there with her mother for a religious service. When she disputed the charges, Shastri says the temple filed lawsuits against her and her family.

Annamalai and the temple have aggressively pursued critics by filing dozens of lawsuits against them and publishing articles about them in the temple’s monthly magazine.

Annamalai says some individuals are jealous of his success and are bent on destroying the temple.

“I’m so rich, I’m so famous, I’m so happy,” Annamalai said. “No temple has this much success in three years.”

Annamalai says he emigrated from India to California with his wife and two children about 10 years ago. Then in 2006, he relocated an ashram he started in California to a 45,000-square-foot office building that formerly housed a church off Brook Hollow Parkway in Norcross. Annamalai had the temple’s exterior painted in a purple and green diamond pattern — “aggressive colors to bring positive energy.”

More than $3 million was spent on renovations. The temple boasts 108 deities, or religious icons in the image of the Hindu god Shiva, each of which costs $15,000 to $40,000.

Money seems to be no object when it comes to temple decor or to Annamalai’s personal lifestyle. He lives in a million-dollar mansion in Sugarloaf Country Club in Duluth.

“A lot of Hindu spiritual leaders are wealthy and have extravagant lifestyles,” Annamalai said when asked about the home. “It is traditional the temple provides housing for the chief monk.”

Annamalai said the temple has about 5,000 followers across the country.

One of them is Prathap Venkatesan, 37, of Chicago. Venkatesan said Annamalai is like a mentor to him and his wife.

“He has guided us in the right direction,” Venkatesan said.

Lal Singh, 47, of Conyers said his family has frequented the temple for two years. Singh said he never felt pressured to give money.

“Every time I want to give money, they say, ‘No, no, don’t worry,’ ” Singh said.

Other worshippers report far different experiences.

Teresa Louis, 42, of Chicago contacted Annamalai for an astrological reading over the phone last summer because she was having difficulty finding a husband. Louis said she also agreed to pay $100 a week for a special prayer service to be conducted on her behalf.

Louis said she was shocked when her credit card was charged for $1,751 two weeks later. When she tried to dispute the charges, Louis said the guru "blatantly told me you cannot cancel.”

“He said, ‘You agreed to it,’ ” said Louis, who later filed complaints with Gwinnett police and the Better Business Bureau.

Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of religion at the University of Florida, said it is customary for Hindu temples to charge devotees for performing religious rituals, “but it is a small, reasonable sum.” She said the fees are usually discussed upfront or posted on the temple’s Web site.

There is no fee schedule listed on the Hindu Temple of Georgia’s Web site. Annamalai said fees vary widely depending on which services are requested and how many priests are involved.

Representatives of the temple have filed lawsuits this year in Gwinnett County and India alleging defamation by Louis and seeking unpaid fees from Shastri. Court records show the temple also has filed at least 20 other lawsuits against other individuals in various jurisdictions in Georgia, alleging either failure to pay for services or defamation against the temple. None of the cases has yet been adjudicated.

Despite all the recent controversy, Annamalai has no plans to relocate or shutter the temple.

“I will stay here,” Annamalai said. “I did nothing wrong here. God will support me.”

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Commander Selvam was re-arrested for Credit card theft and receipt of stolen goods.  His previous bail was increased by $20,000.00, plus a new bond was set for $22,800.00. If he has this much money, then how can be refuse to pay Truscape $250.00 plus court fees? That is why this case has been referred to the state court. If he is not employed--like he claims, then how is he on a work visa? This is another question for him to answer in court. When the police raided his house on April 20th, 2009, his wife answered the door in her stained and soiled night clothes. She said Commander Selvam was not there. Then who was the male there? Where was Commander Selvam? Was he with Paddy Sharma, or Kala Subramaniam?

One of his most trusted priests is currently negotiating for money and a new job with green card. Stupid selvam and squint eyed LVSharma think they know everything. He receives calls from blocked numbers on his phone, because all bills are in Chinnakambi's name. He is willing to give them voice recordings, a spreadsheet with all the overcharges, and copies of all letters and blog postings. He meets these people in the middle of the night, regularly, to give them tapes and pictures. (In the tape he gave us this week: we hear Selvam and all the priests singing "Happy Birthday to you" to some old Gujrathi la dy. These illiterate tamils sound like PIGS DURING FEEDING TIME. We also have some recording of Selvam fighting with one of his priests)

Some priests have cell phones that selvam is not aware off. They even use the Sony Eriksson phones--purchased by selvam himself--to tape selvam's conversations. Selvam really does not know what they own or record. Selvam is now hiding from the sheriff's deputies who visit him everyday.

For instance on May 12th, 2009 the sheriff's deputies came to get Swamiji's "belssings". They were also serving summons from Thompson, O'Brien, Kemp & Nasuti, P.C. 

Maybe Swineji Selvam did not want to pay Patrick O' Brien for all the false cases filed on his behalf. This case was against an Ethiopian (Negussie) where Selvam filed the case against him as Ashok's Center. Maybe O'Brien found that Selvam was lying and did want to proceed with the case. The defendant's (Negussie) attorney remarked:" that selvam's house of cards was going down, after which there would be no money for any attorney or cheated person." This statement was made after the Christmas holidays in Dec 2008.

When your own ex-attorney is suing you that is a very bad sign. Mr O' Brien is an excellent attorney--very, very aggressive. He is a founding partner in the firm and has a large and efficient staff. His partner Nasuti is on the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.  Can you see what that might mean .

Do you think that this semi-literate, ugly, bald, tamil bastard who is on a fake visa, facing felony charges, will have the guts to face O' Brien in court? O'Brien knows everything about this crooked bastard. Boy that will be one circus. Can you also imagine what will happen if Jerry Froelich, Justin Wyatt, Don Gaskill Jr., and  Timothy Walls hear about this case--which they will.

His attorney in India (APJ) is now his enemy. The details of this fight will be posted later.

Last month all of his priests went and demanded their salary. After his recent arrest he has stopped shouting at them. He is now afraid of them. They might overpower him, and Rambo Chinnathambi, one of these days--if they have already not done so. They might call 911. Who knows what they will do. A small group of his priests are trying to grab everything. The businessma n who was sending them groceries has stopped sending them. The priests have to buy their own now. 

This is a crazy and funny place: all his sexually-starved priests eat a lot of his food, live in his place, are in the US on his visa, and are trying to destroy him. The priests do poojas and chant: "Om Shreem Hreem Kleem Dharanaye Thaaye Namakah" all the time. They are doing this so that  Selvam's enemies will win their cases against selvam,  and he will be sent to prison for ever. They also advised Selvam's enemies to schedule all their cases on Thursdays, because Selvam's Brikaspati is very weak. 

In June when Guru Peyurchi begins his criminal cases with start, for which he will go to prison for ever. These fat priests will live in the US run the temple, screw his wife Paru and drive his Mercedes. They want his vandi or Mercedes Benz (Vahanam), his consort or Mohanam (Parvathi or Paru). Lord Shivaji is called "Nandi Vahanam Gowri Mohanam." When Annamalai is in prison his priest Lakshmanan will sing "Vandi vahanam, paru mohanam"..or is it: "Paru vahanam, vandi mohanam"....Shiva Shiva, Shiva,..Shivaaa!

 Lord Shiva will punish these priests.

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US: Controversial swami held for theft, released on bail October 31, 2008 19:57 IST           Related Articles   • 'Commander' Selvam donates $5 million for Atlanta temple               Top Emailed Features • 'Friendships go beyond the body, mind and heart' • 26/11: A Taj survivor's untold story • The amazing anti-India syllabus of Pak madrassas       Have you tried this? • Ask a question • News on your Desktop                 Gwinnett County, Georgia police arrested Dr Commander Selvam , whose real name is Annamalai Annamalai. He is faced with felony charges of theft by taking and practicing medicine without a license. Selvam was out on bail after a few hours for $125,000. The police took away the computers from his home for further investigation. Authorities were on the hunt for the controversial swami, accused of stealing from his desperate followers, claming powers through black magic, for two days before his arrest October 30. Police alerted Hartsfield Jackson International Airport officials just in case he tried to flee the country. Annamalai may also face some questions from the IRS. A story this June in Fox 5 in Atlanta about Selvam, founder of the Hindu Temple of Georgia in Norcross, alerted the police about his activities. The FOX 5 investigation revealed that he was not a traditional Hindu priest. He claimed he could help cure virtually any personal problem. He drove expensive cars and lived in a million-dollar house in the Sugarloaf Country Club. His smiling image showed up throughout his Norcross temple. Selvam refused to speak to Fox 5 then. But in a long chat with rediff India Abroad, he denied all the allegations then and said these people were trying to mess up with his life. The 'swami' claimed to follow Atharva Veda and cure many ailments through tantric karmas and black magic. He charges large amounts too. One allegation was that he allowed alcohol and meat in the temple premises. Two priests at the temple told on TV camera that they were asked to clean them after parties and considered that demeaning. They filed a police complaint against him for improper behavior and cheating. Both left the country also. Selvam, 37, too filed a case for stealing against them. Another accuser is Dr H V Shivadas Jaya, currently director of operations for Gandhi Foundation USA, who was the CEO and temple manager during 2006 to 2007. "By the spring of 2007 I began to have many suspicions about this 'Dr Commander Selvam' when he began to attempt to engage me in many illegal and unethical activities. First suspicion was when I discovered he was married," Shivadas Jaya told rediff India abroad then. He also said he had received thousands of complaints from clients who had sought services to counter 'black magic.' Selvam promised to remove the curse for payments of up to $10,000 per client. Another accuser is Valmiki Raghunathan, who owns an IT company. He said he met Selvam to hire the auditorium for a spiritual talk by Prema Pandurang. But he alleged that Selvam made the five-day programme nightmarish by cutting electricity and sound. So he demanded partial refund of the money. For this he called him several times. This led to cases and counter cases. Then Raghunathan approached Fox 5, but they wanted more people to speak against Selvam. Finally, the two priests and others came forward and Fox carried the news. He said Selvam is still on H1-B visa and his wife Parvathi is on H1-4. Before starting the temple in Georgia, Selvam told rediff India Abroad that he had donated $5 million for the project. He was then in California. But Fox's investigation said the temple and his property are all heavily mortgaged. In his chat to rediff India Abroad, Selvam denied the allegations and pointed out many allegations against the accusers. He said Raghunathan had a history of threat and harassment for two years. He noted that meat and alcohol were allowed only in the auditorium, which is adjacent to the temple. "Moreover meat is allowed in some temples," he said. "Who said swamis should not marry? Many swamis in India marry. Hinduism is an ocean and it is practiced in many ways," he said. About the use of the title 'commander', he said he was the youngest commander of the 4th area command for Chennai city. When asked about the date, he said it was during 1994-95. As a healer and Siddha practitioner, he is being called doctor, he clarified. When he spoke to rediff India Abroad in 2005, he said he decided to construct the temple after a revelation. It even pointed the location. "Many people asked me why I could not build the temple in California or in major centres like New York or New Jersey. I told them about the darshan," he said. He claimed to be a native of Palghat in Kerala [Images]. But it seems he is a native of Karaikudy in Tamil Nadu. He said then that he began to speculate on real estate and that made him all the money. He justifies the money making ventures of a sanyasin saying, "Without my life being successful, how can I make others successful?"

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Annamalai Annamalai, also known as Dr. Commander Selvam, turned himself in to the Gwinnett County jail this afternoon. Above is his mug shot.

Dr. Commander faces one felony count of theft by taking and one felony count of practicing medicine without a license. I'm told his bond will be around $110,000.

Count one involves the unauthorized use of a follower's credit card to the tune of $1751.

Count two deals with another out-of-state follower who contacted Dr. Commander for help on a stomach issue. As we reportec earlier, she says the swamiji told her to stop taking her prescribed medicine and start rubbing a jelly/sand combination on her body instead. She says he rang up nearly $14,000 in unauthorized charges on her credit card.

Police simultaneously executed search warrants yesterday at the Hindu Temple of Georgia and Dr. Commander's Sugarloaf County Club mansion. They left with computers and other records. After they analyze these items authorities say more charges are possible.

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cindun100 Scanner Feed Provider Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4424 Location: Here Donating Member	Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:14 am    Post subject: what the heck is that...looks like somebody shot him and then ran over them with their motorcycle...just to be sure?
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Barbapapa Regular Joined: Aug 14, 2007 Posts: 87 Location: Dacula	Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:30 am    Post subject: cindun100 wrote: what the heck is that...looks like somebody shot him and then ran over them with their motorcycle...just to be sure? Did he have an "Apply directly to forehead" product issue?
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driver8 Regular Joined: Feb 09, 2004 Posts: 403 Location: Lawrenceville Donating Member	Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:59 am    Post subject: cindun100 wrote: what the heck is that...looks like somebody shot him and then ran over them with their motorcycle...just to be sure? i think it means he's married. either that or someone wearing adidas tennis shoes round-house kicked all the happy out of him. actually, it could be both.
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hangdog Regular Joined: Feb 13, 2007 Posts: 60	Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:01 am    Post subject: From 9/10 Gwinnett: Today's game is match the photo with the name. A: Ryan Harley Monroe B: Tony Edsel Simonton C: Lakshmanan Viswanathan Picture 1:.................Picture 2:...............Picture 3:
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scanmama Regular Joined: Jun 24, 2004 Posts: 378 Location: Lawrenceville Donating Member	Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:18 am    Post subject: #1 B #2 C #3 A
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phonecop Regular Joined: Mar 25, 2003 Posts: 338 Location: Dacula, GA Donating Member	Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:42 am    Post subject: scanmama wrote: #1 B #2 C #3 A I'm makin the same guess... _________________ Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
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Commander Selvam - In trouble !!