A Ponzi scheme is a particular type of pyramid scheme — an investment scam in which investors are paid from capital brought in by new investors, rather than from profits earned.
The fraudulent scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, who in 1920 applied the technique which was previously presented in works of fiction, such as Charles Dickens’ 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewit .
Here is how a Ponzi scheme works:
And here’s an archive of news stories regarding Ponzi schemes with a religious angle:
Are many self-described Christians in fact Pagan?
Representatives of the Church of Scientology reportedly asked Google to show only nice links whenever people search for ‘Scientology.’
Also: a pastor bilks a woman with dementia. And a church is ordered to pay $3.6 million to a woman assaulted by its former pastor.
Among the topics in today’s Religion News Briefs: Affinity Fraud (and how you can protect yourself against it). Missionary Kids speak out about abuses they have suffered. And we meet a woman who lost her religion — and subsequently her childen. She is now battling a rabbinical court to regain custody.
Plus: 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court banned prayer in school religion can be found everywhere in public school environments.
Former businessman Ephren Taylor, who describes himself as a ‘Social Capitalist,’ has been charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an alleged $11 million Ponzi scheme that targeted socially conscious churchgoers.
Among the victims are members of Atlanta’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. They are suing their pastor, Eddie Long, for promoting Taylor’s scheme.
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.
A federal judge has sentenced a promoter of Christian rock concerts to nearly five years in prsion in a wire fraud scheme that bilked nearly $1 million from investors.
Lauren Baumann, 43, of Downey, California, was the owner of Stewardship Estates, LLC, which collected nearly $1 million in loans, promising investors that the money would be used to host Christian rock concerts.
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.
Eddie Long, the leader of one of the nation’s best-known megachurches, was accused in a civil lawsuit in Georgia of encouraging church members to invest in a scheme that promised 20% annual returns on safe investments but diverted their money to a failing company.
The owner and operator of a Downey, California, firm has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a Ponzi scheme that collected nearly $1 million from victims who were falsely promised that their money would be used to host Christian rock concerts.
The charge of wire fraud carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Religion News Roundup
Religion news roundup