The Work (Brother Julius)
A wealthy cult that chopped the leader into pieces, believing it was the will of God
1970 - present
"I'm your creator and I've come to punish the world for their sins, for their ungodliness, their crookedness, breaking my commandments.... You are interviewing Jesus, who has returned like a thief in the night."
-Brother Julius (founder)
The Work is an abusive cult with a morbid history. Founded by Brother Julius Schacknow in 1970, the cult grew rapidly, building a business empire with over $100 million in annual revenue. But as the empire began to crumble in the late 1980s, The Work took a dark and radical turn. After Brother Julius declared to his followers that he must sin in order to understand it, he forced women to share their husbands and reportedly abused innocent children in the name of God. To make matters worse, those who tried to leave were met with threats and intimidation, plunging Julius' followers into a terrifying abyss of fear and oppression.
After Brother Julius died in 1996, the cult found a new leader in Paul Sweetman. However, he too was corrupt. After he was sentenced to prison for bank fraud and released in 2004, he vanished under mysterious circumstances and the case remained unsolved for years.
But then, a shocking discovery was made. In 2016, DNA testing proved that a human leg found on a golf course belonged to Sweetman. But the truth was more horrifying than anyone could have imagined. Two members of The Work had brutally bludgeoned Sweetman, placed him in a freezer while he was still alive, and later dismembered him, all because they believed it was what God wanted.
The perpetrators are either dead or in prison, but The Work lives on. Its twisted legacy continues to haunt those who dare to uncover its dark secrets and serves as a chilling reminder that even cult leaders are not immune to the brutality of their deluded followers.
Religion: Christianity
Denomination: Other
Founder: Julius Schacknow ("Brother Julius")
Founded: 1970
Size: 300 at peak; 75-100 currently
Location: Madrid, Connecticut, US
Children were pulled out of public schools due to a belief that "education and free thinking were not compatible" with life in the cult (source)
In 2018, two members were convicted of conspiring to murder the leader Paul Sweetman in 2004 (source)
Members who wanted to leave were threatened with divine retribution, including the death of their children (source)
Brother Julius and his son Daniel swapped wives, and Brother Julius pressured the women to "share their husbands" (source)
Brother Julius had seven unofficial wives (source)
Brother Julius told women that it was "God's will" that they have sex with him (source)
Brother Julius taught that salvation is only attainable through sex with him (source)
Other info:
Founder Brother Julius referred to himself as the "sinful messiah" and believed that he had to experience sin to know what sin was like (see Antinomianism) (source)
Leaders were successful business owners with multiple businesses, which each earned up to $100 million annually (source)
Brother Julius stopped making public appearances in 1976 (source)
Members did not believe in funerals and buried the founder without a ceremony (source)
Other tags:
Investigative documentary on the cult