Should they have trusted in gold not....?:
onday September 10 6:03 PM ET
SEC Accuses Baptist Minister of Fraud
By Niala Boodhoo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators filed suit against a Baptist minister on Monday, accusing him of robbing $3.5 million from more than 150 African-American Baptist investors in a religious scam known as ``affinity fraud.''
Ronald Randolph was accused of selling investment contracts for his fake plastics company, International Polymers Works, the Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) said.
The Beaumont, Texas, resident exclusively targeted African-American Baptists and promised them returns of between 7 percent and 30 percent, the SEC alleged.
From 1997 through 2000, Randolph told 155 investors the firm was profitable and had several contracts with major companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM - news), DuPont Co. (NYSE:DD - news) and Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE:DOW - news). He also said the investments were insured by Lloyds of London, the SEC alleged.
``Randolph made false and misleading statements to investors regarding IPW's business prospects, the security and returns associated with the investment,'' the SEC said.
There were no contracts and no guarantees, the regulator said, and the 48-year-old minister used the money of new investors to pay back prior investors.
Randolph's attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
Scams using religion as a lure to get people to invest money have taken in about $1.8 billion over the last three years, the Washington-based North American Securities Administrators Association said last month.
Regulators classify fraudulent schemes appealing to a common religious or ethnic heritage as ``affinity fraud.''
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