The malicious code used by Newsweek Media Group websites as part of an ad fraud scheme has been found on sites owned by Christian Media Corporation, an online publisher that, just like NMG, has close ties to a controversial religious leader and the university he founded.

The code was detected by researchers at DoubleVerify, a digital media measurement company that previously found it on several properties owned by NMG. The code enables a publisher running it to earn revenue on ads that would otherwise not meet industry standards for viewability.

Wayne Gattinella, the CEO of DoubleVerify, told BuzzFeed News that after weeks of scanning it has only found the code on sites connected to these two companies. “This suggests a very tight relationship, technically or otherwise, between these two organizations,” he said.

Reporting by BuzzFeed News also found that five CMC websites have been engaging in the same type of ad fraud that was also present on several NMG websites.

These findings raise questions about CMC and NMG’s connections to each other, and their relationships with Olivet University and a larger network of companies and organizations linked to Korean pastor David Jang.

CMC and NMG both previously funneled millions of dollars to Olivet as part of what the university has described as research and development agreements. Both companies continue to work with the university, and their executives have served as advisers and trustees for Olivet. In 2013 and 2014, NMG, under its previous corporate name, was itself listed as a trustee of Olivet. The company gave Olivet more than $2.8 million during that period.

NMG is already facing scrutiny for a recent string of layoffs, controversial firings, the continued employment of a chief content officer who was fired from Reuters over complains of sexual harassment, and the fact that the company is the target of a widening fraud investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. That probe recently saw members of the DA’s office execute a search warrant at the upstate New York campus of Olivet University. This followed a January search of Newsweek’s Manhattan offices.

In separate statements to BuzzFeed News, NMG and CMC blamed “overseas” technology partners for the malicious code. This appears to contradict a previous statement from NMG to the Wall Street Journal earlier this month that placed the blame on two of its employees. CMC and NMG did not reply to questions about what, if any, business ties exist between the companies.

“NMG works with overseas tech firms that service several publishers. The code in question originated from one of them,” said NMG. The company did not reply when asked why it now blames overseas partners when it previously pointed the finger at two employees.

“The programmatic advertising (and its codes) and audience development are outsourced, and CMC is looking into its overseas IT vendors to analyze the matter and any inconsistencies,” read the statement from CMC.

Both companies said their ties to Olivet University and Pastor David Jang have no connection to advertising practices or the malicious code.

“To imply that this code originated from a university or a church that the co-founders and executives may attend is categorically false and amounts to clear defamation and religious discrimination,” read a statement from Newsweek Media Group.

“Dr. David Jang is an evangelical theologian who loves the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible,” read the statement from CMC. “He has no role with CMC.”

The university also told BuzzFeed News it has no connection to the code or to related ad fraud.

“This issue has zero, absolutely no relevance at all to Olivet University,” Ronn Torossian, spokesperson for Olivet, told BuzzFeed News. “To be clear, these are not related to any work we have done in R&D. None at all, and any claims otherwise are false and completely made up.”

CMC and NMG ran "identical" code