Life Surge Denies Wrongdoing in Settlement of Overtime Lawsuit

Proposed settlement includes $5,000 for each plaintiff while Life Surge continues to deny liability.

Life Surge, a company that hosts events claiming to teach Christians to steward their finances for Kingdom impact, often through real estate transactions, has filed a joint motion with the plaintiffs to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and unpaid overtime.

Video screenshot @Life Surge

According to the lawsuit, filed in January in federal court in Florida, Life Surge misclassified employees as independent contractors to cut labor costs and increase profits.

Plaintiff John Dessauer worked as a sales advisor for Life Surge from 2023 to 2025, selling the company’s coaching and mentoring services. He was paid entirely by commission. Dessauer argued that his sales work did not meet the definition of an independent contractor.

Valeria Cummins joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff in February, alleging she was not paid all of her commissions.

In the settlement motion, Life Surge continues to deny liability and says it owes the plaintiffs no damages. Both parties nevertheless agreed to settle to “avoid the burden, expense, and uncertainty of continuing this litigation.”

According to the motion and the attached agreement, Life Surge will pay each plaintiff $5,000 and cover $6,000 in attorney fees to settle the federal wage claims. The plaintiffs originally claimed they were owed a combined $85,000 in overtime wages.

The plaintiffs agreed that the payments “fairly and adequately” compensate them for their alleged unpaid overtime. They cited the defendant’s exemption defenses, including that the plaintiffs fell under the “outside sales exemption,” which would exempt them from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The plaintiffs’ other claims, which covered unpaid commissions, unreimbursed expenses and breach of contract, were settled in a separate agreement whose terms were not disclosed.

If the court approves the motion, the case will be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Nov. 17.

Other Legal and Public Scrutiny

In September, Life Surge speakers Tim Tebow and Craig Groeschel suspended their involvement with the group. A Mother Jones investigation had reported that Life Surge pressured attendees into taking on tens of thousands of dollars in debt to pay for faith-based investment classes.

In August 2025, the Justice Department sued Life Surge founder Joe Johnson, alleging he abused a section of the Internal Revenue Code that allows a charitable deduction for the sale of property to a charity.

The DOJ argued that Johnson’s abusive bargain-sale transactions, carried out through his other entities, Welfont Companies and Mercy Foundation Group, have wasted valuable government resources. It estimated that the 99 total transactions, which overstated charitable deductions, could have resulted in a tax loss of over $46 million.

The Justice Department did not name Life Surge in its lawsuit.

On Aug. 31, 2026, a court entered a permanent injunction barring Johnson from engaging in the bargain-sale transactions at issue in the lawsuit. For the next five years, Johnson must file a declaration stating that he has not engaged in any prohibited activity.

Johnson is also required to remove any content about the Welfont Group from various social media platforms.

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