I don't know if this has been posted, but it was e-mailed to me today.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-111ponzischeme.story
------------------------------
Elder convicted of defrauding church members, others out of millions
sun-sentinel.com
Posted November 1 2002, 2:13 PM EST
MIAMI An elder in the Jehovahs Witness church was convicted on Friday of defrauding elderly and financially unsophisticated church members and others out of millions of dollars.
Federal prosecutors said Raymond L. Knowles, who lists addresses in Opa-locka, Pembroke Pines and San Antonio, preyed upon members in his congregation and others by persuading them to invest in promissory notes and promising them an annual return of 8.5 percent to 9.25 percent. The notes were worthless.
Through his company, All Diversified Financial Services Inc., Knowles issued more than $533,000 of the notes, the federal indictment stated.
To perpetuate the scheme over a number of years, the government said, Knowles used a Ponzi type scheme that used funds obtained from later investors to make payments to early investors. He also diverted investor funds to lease luxury cars for his and his wife's personal use, and to pay personal, business and other expenses, including trips to South Africa and Disney World, the government said.
In all, Knowles was convicted of 16 counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud and four counts of securities fraud. He faces a maximum of five years of imprisonment for each mail and wire fraud count and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison with respect to each of the securities fraud counts.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9 before U.S. District Court Judge Donald L. Graham.