Mishel Montague
Recently I ran across a website for a new bottled water company called ZAO.It was advertised as a humanitarian organization working to transform third world communities. They claimed to provide safe drinking water, hygiene education, and hope for people in developing nations. The company’s website was very professional and had an earthy, humanitarian feel to it. The pitch was convincing. I reach for their brand of bottled water; a person in Africa reaps the benefits. In fact, so convincing was the pitch, I might have been inclined to purchase this water had I not recognized the Director of ZAO bottled water as Mathew (Matt) Peterson, a former CIA agent employed by MorningStar Ministries.
Having had my own experience with MorningStar, and knowing they have been less than honest in their financial dealings, I decided to take a closer look. The website for ZAO Water had nothing whatsoever to indicate that it was connected to a ministry, only that it was a non profit humanitarian organization. All non-profit organizations and charities must be registered with the Internal Revenue Service. When I checked the official government website for the IRS – surprise- no ZAO water! I invite you to do the same, here. I then checked the official domain record to see who their internet domain name was officially registered to. When I queried the record for Zaowater.com, I made the following discovery.