I didn't realize there is so much church fraud.
Text of forwarded message follows:
>Religion-Related Fraud Getting Worse
>Aug 13 11:05 PM US/Eastern
><http://tinyurl.com/m6qyc>http://tinyurl.com/m6qyc
>
>By RACHEL ZOLL
>
>Randall W. Harding sang in the choir at Crossroads Christian Church
>in Corona, Calif., and donated part of his conspicuous wealth to its
>ministries. In his business dealings, he underscored his faith by
>naming his investment firm JTL, or "Just the Lord." Pastors and
>churchgoers alike entrusted their money to him.
>
>By the time Harding was unmasked as a fraud, he and his partners had
>stolen more than $50 million from their clients, and Crossroads
>became yet another cautionary tale in what investigators say is a
>worsening problem plaguing the nation's churches.
>
>Billions of dollars has been stolen in religion-related fraud in
>recent years, according to the North American Securities
>Administrators Association, a group of state officials who work to
>protect investors.
>
>Between 1984 and 1989, about $450 million was stolen in religion-
>related scams, the association says. In its latest count _ from 1998
>to 2001 _ the toll had risen to $2 billion. Rip-offs have only become
>more common since.
>
>"The size and the scope of the fraud is getting larger," said
>Patricia Struck, president of the securities association and
>administrator of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions,
>Division of Securities. "The scammers are getting smarter and the
>investors don't ask enough questions because of the feeling that they
>can be safe in church."
>
>Cases in recent years show just how vulnerable religious communities are.
>
>Lambert Vander Tuig, a member of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest
>Calif., ran a real estate scam that bilked investors out of $50
>million, the Securities and Exchange Commission says. His salesmen
>presented themselves as faithful Christians and distributed copies of
>"The Purpose Driven Life," by Saddleback pastor Rick Warren,
>according to the SEC. Warren and his church had no knowledge of
>Vander Tuig's activities, says the SEC.
>
>At Daystar Assembly of God Church in Prattville, Ala., a congregant
>persuaded church leaders and others to invest about $3 million in
>real estate a few years ago, promising some profits would go toward
>building a megachurch. The Daystar Assembly was swindled and lost its
>building.
>
>And in a dramatically broader scam, leaders of Greater Ministries
>International, based in Tampa, Fla., defrauded thousands of people of
>half a billion dollars by promising to double money on investments
>that ministry officials said were blessed by God. Several of the con
>men were sentenced in 2001 to more than a decade each in prison.
>
>"Many of these frauds are, on their face, very credible and
>legitimate appearing," said Randall Lee, director of the Pacific
>regional office of the SEC. "You really have to dig below the surface
>to understand what's going on."
>
>Typically, a con artist will target the pastor first, by making a
>generous donation and appealing to the minister's desire to expand
>the church or its programs, according to Joseph Borg, director of the
>Alabama Securities Commission, who played a key role in breaking up
>the Greater Ministries scam.
>
>If the pastor invests, churchgoers view it as a tacit endorsement.
>The con man, often promising double digit returns, will chip away at
>resistance among church members by suggesting they can donate part of
>their earnings to the congregation, Borg says.
>
>"Most folks think `I'm going to invest in some overseas deal or real
>estate deal and part of that money is going to the church and I get
>part. I don't feel like I'm guilty of greed,'" Borg says.
>
>If a skeptical church member openly questions a deal, that person is
>often castigated for speaking against a fellow Christian.
>
>Ole Anthony of the Trinity Foundation Inc. in Dallas, which
>investigates fraud and televangelism, partly blames the churches
>themselves for the problem. Anthony contends that the "prosperity
>gospel" _ which teaches that the truly faithful are rewarded with
>wealth in this life _ is creeping into mainstream churches.
>
>Chuck Crites, a former member of Crossroads Church, learned firsthand
>how effective con artists can be.
>
>The businessman was swindled out of $500,000 by Harding in a Ponzi
>scheme, which uses money from newer investors to pay off older ones.
>
>Crites said Harding, who pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and
>money laundering, boasted about helping fund a new Christian high
>school for Crossroads and hired a music pastor from the megachurch as
>a sales agent. "At one point he even told me how much money he had
>given to the church that year," Crites said.
>
>Harding was nabbed with the help of Barry Minkow, who was himself
>convicted of fraud years ago. Minkow eventually became a pastor in
>San Diego and started the Fraud Discovery Institute, which is
>dedicated to investigating scams.
>
>Crites is putting his money toward a new fraud-awareness kit for
>churches and other groups that Minkow is developing.
>
>"It made me angry at how people are abusing the trust that exists in
>church communities," Crites said.
>
>Investigators say all denominations are at risk, but the most
>susceptible communities are ones where members are deeply engaged in
>church activities, such as service programs and small group prayer,
>giving con artists plenty of chance to ingratiate themselves with congregants.
>
>Often, perpetrators are so successful building an image as good
>Christians that churchgoers won't cooperate with law enforcement
>authorities even after the crime is revealed.
>
>"Money has a way of blinding objectivity, even for we who are
>believers," Minkow says.
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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End of forwarded message text:
John
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