Lerma started in Scientology at the age of 16 at the urging of his mother, an executive director for the Washington, DC church. He was impressed by L. Ron Hubbard's exaggerated account of his military career and scientific credentials. Lerma joined Scientology's Sea Org and was assigned in 1976 to a post working alongside Hubbard's daughter Suzette. He later claimed that they became romantically involved and planned to elope, though others have disputed this. Lerma alleged that other Sea Org officers discovered their plans and threatened to mutilate him if he did not cancel the marriage. Lerma quit Scientology soon afterward.
''RTC v. Lerma''
After Lerma posted the Fishman Affidavit in August 1995, his home was raided by federal marshals and lawyers from the Church of Scientology, alleging he was in possession of copyrighted documents. A lawsuit was filed against Lerma and his Internet service provider by the church's Religious Technology Center, claiming copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation. The Washington Post and two investigative reporters were added to the lawsuit, as an article written about the raid contained three brief quotes from Scientology "Advanced Technology" documents. The Washington Post, et al., were released from the suit when United States District JudgeLeonie Brinkema ruled in a memorandum on November 28, 1995 The memorandum opinion acknowledges what Scientology practices to this day: the "Fair Game" policy, a written directive by L. Ron Hubbard that encourages harassment of anyone who speaks out against the church. In conclusion, the court awarded RTC the statutory minimum of $2,500 for five instances of non-willful copyright violation.
Lermanet
Lerma started a website called Lermanet, which concentrates on news about Scientology and on documenting lawsuits by Scientology. He was also noted for discovering an altered picture on a Scientology website on New Year's Eve in 1999, one that appeared to inflate the number of members attending a millennial event at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in California. He posted the pictures to his website identifying the alterations, with the most prominent feature being the "man with no head". The story appeared on national television and in the press. On March 28, 2019, the entire content of Arnie Lerma's "Lermanet.com" site was deleted by his surviving widow, Ginger Sugerman. Contents are only accessible through use of the "Wayback Machine" at archive.org. however survived a little bit longer.
Death
Lerma committed suicide by gunshot at his home in Sylvania, Georgia, on March 16, 2018, after shooting his wife, Ginger Sugerman, in the face. Sugerman survived.
