It begins with a seemingly sincere offer of help from a trusted, Jesus-loving voice. But the conversation always dead-ends in perdition.
Case in point: The New Covenant Christian Center, a Seattle-area independent church, was the setting where a tragically familiar Ponzi scheme took root in 2003. The scheme's organizer offered to double or triple invested money in a matter of weeks through an overseas trading program. In total, 24 church members handed over $1.6 million until law enforcement intervened in 2011 as the fraud collapsed. Who was that trusted voice behind this Ponzi? Anthony C. Morris, the pastor.
Prosecutors have uncovered more financial fraud in church networks than they ever imagined. "It took the financial downturn. Money was drying up—the new investors were not coming in, so Ponzi schemes collapsed," IRS Special Agent in Charge for Criminal Investigations Ken Hines told...
