Affinity frauds
The Securities and Exchange Commission defines affinity fraud as "investment scams that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly or professional groups." Some recent examples:
* The Baptist Foundation of Arizona told investors their money would build churches while paying returns. In fact, their savings were sucked into what authorities called a $550 million Ponzi scheme in the 1980s and 1990s. Several foundation officials were sentenced to prison in 2006 and 2007.
* Chicago real estate investment firm Sunrise Equities Inc. had the blessing of Muslim clerics, who said its dividends conformed with Islamic laws against earning interest. Its owner disappeared this past August, leaving 200 of his fellow Muslim immigrants with losses that could total $50 million.
* Renaissance Asset Fund Inc. raised more than $16 million from more than 190 investors in a Ponzi scheme that promised elderly members of Jehovah's Witnesses congregations returns of up to 75 percent.
* Under various names with biblical connotations, including Jubilee Trust Fund, Oracle Trust Fund and Elkosh Trust Fund, a group of schemers bilked $7.4 million from members of Christian churches
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