Category: Nakami Chi Group Ministries International

An Arizona con man who used promises of Christian goodwill to prey on churchgoers in Arizona and 12 other states will spend the next five years in prison.

Authorities say Purvis and his partner, Gregg Wolfe, operated a Ponzi scheme through a non-profit called Nakami Chi Group Ministries International, which promised to fund Christian causes around the globe while repaying investors 24 percent annual returns.

For more than six years, an Arizona con man maintained his innocence in a fraud that bilked millions of dollars from churchgoers in Arizona and 12 other states.

But on Tuesday, Edward Purvis of Chandler pleaded guilty to orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that involved fake gold mines, phony businesses and a bogus promise to fund Christian causes with investor money.

A month before he stands trial on fraud charges, Ed Purvis — the owner of a Christian non-profit accused of bilking millions out of churchgoers in Arizona and 12 other states — is now seeking an expert’s endorsement to promote a gold-mine project to investors.

He is scheduled to stand trial June 14 in Superior Court on 43 counts of criminal fraud and theft charges related to his non-profit company Nakami Chi Group Ministries International, which authorities describe as a Ponzi scheme.

Edward Purvis, the man who promised churchgoing investors in Arizona and 12 other states he could make them wealthy while funding Christian causes, was indicted Friday on 43 counts of fraud and theft.

Authorities accuse the 40-year-old Chandler man of operating a multimillion Ponzi-scheme through Nakami Chi Group Ministries International.

The ruling crowns a three-year investigation by the Corporation Commission into Valley-based Nakami, which investigators say targeted churchgoers as part of a Ponzi scheme, including at least one pastor, church elders and members of Chandler Christian Church and Vineyard Church in Avondale.

None of the principals could be reached for comment Friday. Purvis has denied any wrongdoing.

Wolfe last year agreed to turn state’s evidence and admitted to investigators that he and Purvis for years funneled millions of dollars in investors’ money into offshore accounts as part of the scheme.

One of the owners of a Christian non-profit company accused of defrauding churchgoers in Arizona and 12 other states has admitted funneling millions in investors’ money into offshore accounts as part of a pyramid scheme.

A former Chandler police officer accused of aiding suspects in a state fraud case has agreed to testify against them