"A WOMAN has defrauded Perth residents of more than $4 million by selling shares in a bogus land development she called "Mormonville", police say.
West Australian Police fraud officers, who have charged the 50-year-old registered finance broker on 24 fraud-related counts, say many of the woman’s victims were pensioners.
They said the woman, from Canning Vale in Perth’s south, set up "illusory schemes" in 2007 to fund her personal investments and affairs.
"She tricked people to invest by offering exceptionally high rates of returns with little or no risk to invested money," a police spokeswoman said.
The initial schemes allegedly involved selling investments in part-shares of land but later evolved into a scheme advertised as Mormonville, which claimed to be a village-type development for members of the woman’s church."
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/money/property/mormonville-scam-nets-4m-police/story-e6frfmd0-1225902211494#ixzz0vp0orSYC
Mormons seem especially vulnerable to ‘affinity fraud’, where a con artist preys on people who accept them as part of a group they trust.
Bernie Madoff did the same thing with Jews.
As an ex Mormon, I’ve often wondered if my ancestors all had some sort of ‘gullible’ gene.
August 7th, 2010 at 8:22 am
Dude seriously, not all mormons are involved in a scam that one woman has come up with.
References :
August 7th, 2010 at 8:38 am
It sounds like the perpetrator was targeting Mormons.
"The initial schemes allegedly involved selling investments in part-shares of land but later evolved into a scheme advertised as Mormonville, which claimed to be a village-type development for members of the woman’s church."
References :
August 7th, 2010 at 9:20 am
It’s one woman. Any other Mormons who are involved are most likely to be victims, not perpetrators.
References :
August 7th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Mormons seem especially vulnerable to ‘affinity fraud’, where a con artist preys on people who accept them as part of a group they trust.
Bernie Madoff did the same thing with Jews.
As an ex Mormon, I’ve often wondered if my ancestors all had some sort of ‘gullible’ gene.
References :
August 7th, 2010 at 10:32 am
If by involved, you mean victims, then yes, the victims were Mormon.
References :