Conning the faithful is a little bit like taking advantage of the mildly retarded, but I bet Gresham feels no shame.

Those look like plums and not peaches.

The Bible itself says not to trust people who go around yelling about how totally Christian they are. This information probably should be included in those "how to recognize a scam" articles one sees everywhere.

@cmdrsass: Below the belt.
Though despite the political incorrectness, it is a fair amount of lack of thinking when you hand your money to someone just because "The Lord Blessed Me".

@Blueskylaw: Maybe Nectarines?

So it takes a bad economy for ponzi schemes to be filtered out?

@CumaeanSibyl: "One who proclaims himself a prophet almost certainly isn't"?

I, for one, prefer my prophets and gods to be humble folks who dont act all high and mighty, but carry big meteors.

@cmdrsass: A harsh assessment, but in truth all this guy had to do was convince his marks that he was a "good Christian man like them" and they would tend to believe him. Having grown up in a small churchy town, I learned early that there are people who are really religious, and there are people who are churchy because that's the way to fit in or get ahead.

@MostlyHarmless: let it be said that if there is to be a "second coming" nobody will believe him.

@Skankingmike:

Yes, I wrote the wrong one.

Where is the edit button already?

@Skankingmike: Ofcourse no one will believe a guy when he brags about the second coming. It would be much more believable coming from a girl.

@MostlyHarmless: HAH last I checked hardcore Christians faiths still have horrible woman's rights. Well make that most "orthodox/conservative" religions - Jewish,Christian,Muslim

@CumaeanSibyl: Like that auto warranty scam robo-calling company often featured in Consumerist, who markets itself as "Faith Based" and has a little halo in its logo?

There was another big church/pastor scam recently in California I believe. Was it on Consumerist? They told church parishoners they had hundreds of cars for sale for just a couple thousand each, people just had to pay cash and get on the waiting list until the "estate cleared up in probate court?"

Or the scam ads on websites "Christian stay-at-home moms make $5,000 a month! Just send $599 to this address to find out the secret!"

"Faith based businesses" raise red flags for me, personally. I'm wary of anyone who walks around touting how "Christian" they are, especially when it comes to business dealings! Religion to me is a personal matter, not a business matter.

@Blueskylaw: maybe they're waiting for Gawker to update their comments section and steal their code?

Hitler was a xian. Basing the reliability of someone on a religion that lets them be forgiven of any sin is insane. I would rather trust an atheist who would feel bad, than a xian who would be able to clean their slate.

@Julia789:
"There was another big church/pastor scam recently [...]"

Now you are just baiting people who take Dan Brown seriously :P

@Skankingmike: I was not talking about rights per se. But I dont think they'll be getting a second coming, or even a first, unless the men make an effort to recognize them as equals.

@Skankingmike: You're so innocent. :)

@cmdrsass: A little rough there. I know that this community is against all things Christian, but come on.

That being said, greed is a nasty sin. Do I invest? Yes. But only in "safer" investments. forex markets are high risk deals where you can lose your ass quickly if you don't know what you are doing, and fairly fast if you know what you are doing.

@Blueskylaw: And it looks like there's One Bad Apple right in the front of the bunch.

@Skankingmike: What's taking them so long? Gawker's had an edit button for at least a week now. Get with the program Consumerist!

Good artists copy. Great artists steal. Prison's full of 'em haha.

@cmdrsass: Thats kind of a crass way to put it... but, he already has experience in convincing people to believe in something that doesn't exist.

@Julia789: "Religion to me is a personal matter, not a business matter."

Nice Julia.

@Skankingmike: I guess people are actually now realizing that their nest egg is full of bird poop.

@kylere: In that case, send me all your money. Include with it your social security number, credit card numbers (along with the little three digit security codes from the back), bank account numbers, PINs, and the like. As an atheist, I promise to feel bad about robbing you blind. hahaha

Hey, this guy has a simple defense: "They were doing good deeds and will be now assured a place in the afterlife."
BAM! He's now a preacher of his own church and can't be touched for fraud.
Taking money fraudulently from people with promises of eternal reward works for every "legitimate" religion out there. And they have the same evidence!

what gets me is that he convinced people to withdraw IRA money, under the assumption he'd return it to them within 60 days so they can redeposit it without paying a penalty. I think it would be tough to run a ponzi scheme when clients are expecting to get their money back within 60 days.

@cmdrsass:

Matthew 6:24

"No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches!"

@cmdrsass: I don't agree, as I don't think in (most)cases having faith limits your ability to make logica decisions...but having faith in someone BECAUSE they have faith is a bad idea.

@MostlyHarmless: Agreed. The faithful are, in general, not "mildly retarded." This situation is likely an unfortunate cult of personality.

I have to say it isn't entirely uncommon, though...a guy from my parents' church was trying to get parishioners involved in a pyramid scheme years ago, and my dad was stunned at how many were willing to believe everything spewed at them by this guy because he was a "friend from church." Some of my neighbors are currently trying to suck others into some video phone pyramid deal. How does this continue to happen??

@MostlyHarmless: LOL. Thank you for that.

I need to get in on the middle of a ponzi scheme so I know to get my money and return back out.

@Julia789: I agree entirely, especially with the last paragraph. US Fidelis is faith-based and they're a total scam...

@katstermonster: I'll quote some guy here, whose name I do not remember:

"Think how dumb the average person is. Half the population is dumber."

@speedwell, avatar of snark: I know right!! The whole thing went totally over his head. And now I feel all sorts of sleazy if I have to explain it.

@kylere: "I would rather trust an atheist who would feel bad"

Why would an atheist have to feel bad when it won't matter in the end anyway?

@cmdrsass: Yeah, that statement was uncalled for.

PEOPLE can be stupid, religious or not. They can be suckered into deals that appeal to their greed or even their good qualities.

On behalf of all the non-scheming Christians out there, I do not want your money :)

@Skankingmike: Kind of, yeah. A Pyramid scheme can only sustain itself as long as:

a) People are not asking for the returns on investment, or
b) There are enough new people joining so that existing members can be paid out from capital brought in by new users.

In a bad economy, two things happen: People start asking for their money back, AND since everyone is pinched for cash, there are no new victims.

Once the flow of new capital stops, the pyramid starts sinking under its own weight. Then some people pull out, causing some others to pull out, and soon there is panic, and then a "run" on the whole scheme.

Somewhere along this, someone starts an investigation, and the promoter is not able to validate the claims, and the whole thing goes bust.

It is a very unstable and recursive structure, relying on constant and continued growth. When the growing stops, it all comes crashing down.

Anyone who believes in an invisible god who heals cancer victims but not amputees, who encourages war, inflicts disease and plagues on people, who demands people worship him....etc...they are perfect suckers for a scheme like this.

@tonalanswer:
Why would a xian have to feel bad when there will be no money when he dies anyway? None of this matters if there is a second showing!
Because everyone is SUPPOSED to have morals? It's just that atheists don't have to be ordered to do right or wrong. I guess the appeal of the organized religion is at best forgiveness when you do wrong and at worst a Nuremberg defense ("hey, god told me to do it... see? I have the documentation right here!)

@menty666: How do you know that you are in the middle?

Because when you join, you are at the bottom.

Also, how can you be sure when is the right time to quit? Maybe you could roll in a few hundred thousand more if you held out for just one more year.

@craptastico: Not if you had a particularly gullible clientele. Anyone who asks me to withdraw from my IRA to invest in a magic investment gets shot in the face.

@cmdrsass: I expected a mean-spirited comment like that in here.

@savdavid: I guess this Gresham character missed the boat. Our president believes in an invisible god and he has deep pockets.

@katstermonster: It's the insider thing, though, not the Christianity per se. fter all, this is one of the ways Madoff managed to amass his clientele for the fleecing, since the fact that he was a nice Jewish guy like them reassured them that he wouldn't steal from them.

People's own virtue can be a drawback--if you won't steal, and you think this person is like you, you believe he won't steal.

@HRHKingFridayXX: "Thats kind of a crass way to put it... but, he already has experience in convincing people to believe in something that doesn't exist."

touché

Eery similarities to Madoff: Madoff suckered in fellow Jews, and Gresham sucked in fellow Christians. and yeah, I know that not all Madoff's victims were Jewish but a large # were.

Sounds like a kid I grew up with who targeted the Korean community up in Tacoma:
[www.sec.gov]

It's nice to see that the goys are getting some of the Madoff action too. Poor dears probably felt left out and abandoned.

@MostlyHarmless: *signs up for your prophet*

@Julia789: "I'm wary of anyone who walks around touting how "Christian" they are, especially when it comes to business dealings!"

I always ask them if they're familiar with the moneychangers in the temple. They never, EVER get it.