Heber Jentzsch Dead at 90: Scientology's Longtime 'President' Dies Years After Being Transferred to a Nursing Home
Heber Jentzsch was a major player in the Church of Scientology in the 1980's and 1990's.
Jan. 9 2026, Published 2:02 p.m. ET
Heber Jentzsch, Scientology's longtime "president," died years after being transferred to a nursing home, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Tony Ortega, who writes often about Scientology, confirmed the news via his Substack.
Heber Jentzsch's Former Wife Confirmed His Death
Years ago, he was moved to a nursing home.
Karen de la Carriere, Jentzsch's former wife, reached out to Ortega to share that Jentzsch had passed away at 90 years old.
Years ago, he was moved from Scientology’s international management base to a nursing home.
Jentzsch was considered a major player in the Church, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, when he served as the Church's spokesperson. This role saw him ingratiate himself with journalists and his fellow Scientologists.
Heber Jentzsch's Role in the Church of Scientology Became Reduced
Heber Jentzsch was still listed as the Church of Scientology's CEO in paperwork as recently as 2023.
Although he was known as Scientology's "president," the title didn't mean he ran things, as David Miscavige became chairman of the board of the Religious Technology Center and captain of the Sea Organization, Scientology's most elite and dedicated group, once founder L. Ron Hubbard died.
As chairman of the board, Miscavige is regarded as the leader of the Church of Scientology.
According to de la Carriere and others, Miscavige reduced Jentzsch's role in the early 2000s and spoke negatively to him in front of others. He started appearing at events less frequently. He was later sent to the "hole," a prison of sorts in which Suppressive Persons (people the Church considers a threat to their progress) are kept.
According to official paperwork submitted as recently as 2023, Jentzsch was still listed as the Church of Scientology International’s "CEO."
Heber Jentzsch's Brother Claims He Felt He Couldn't 'Get Out' of the Church 'Alive'
Heber Jentzsch's older brother David alleged Heber told him he didn't think he could 'get out' of the church.
In 2012, Ortega wrote a story for The Village Voice in which he spoke to Jentzsch's older brother, David Jentzsch.
David claimed at the time he hadn't spoken to Heber in three years and, when he last had, he urged his brother to leave the church.
"He said, 'I don’t think I can ever get out of here.' But I told him, 'You have to try.’' And the last thing he said to me was, 'I’ll never get out of here alive.'"
David alleged the workers at the base Heber was at refused to take his calls since the last time he'd spoken to his brother.
"They won’t let me talk to him. Heber just lost his son, Alexander," David stated. "I called and told them I’d like to talk to my brother about this. They told me, 'You can't come, we don’t want you here.' I told them I’d come down there and they’d have to let me see him. But they said, 'Heber is not going to be able to talk to you, so it’s best that you don’t come.'"
Heber Jentzsch's Brother Declared the Scientology Base 'Straight From Hell'
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Heber Jentzsch did 'a lot with the IRS' to tell them 'Scientology is a church,' his brother claimed.
David also recalled a time when Heber was well regarded in Scientology, and he tried to convince him how successful their base was.
"He did a lot with the IRS, telling them Scientology is a church, which it really isn’t," David stated. "I went down there at one point. He showed me around. We had lunch at a nice table. The other people had to sit on the floor to eat in a gymnasium, but we had a waiter with a towel wrapped around his arm, and the table all set real nice, you know what I mean."
When lunch concluded, David said Heber asked him what he thought of the place.
"Heber, it's straight from hell," David said he told him, adding his brother was "madder than hell at me."
Radar reached out to the Church of Scientology for a comment on Heber's death, and they provided an obituary for him.
They praised him for confronting "one of the most famous legal assaults ever mounted against the Church of Scientology" and remembered him as a "commanding presence" who left "no doubt about his conviction, authority, and lifelong dedication to the Church of Scientology."
