I thought this was pretty interesting and hadn't seen it before. It's from the "Watchtower Information Service" website. Any thoughts or comments?
http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/fraud2b.htm
Church officials shun thieves
By Vera Haffey of The Montana Standard
DEER LODGE — Two former Jehovah's Witnesses church elders sentenced recently in what prosecutors bill as the largest theft case in Montana's
history were denounced by the church in a statement released by a national spokesperson Wednesday.
Speaking from the church's world headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., J. R. Brown confirmed that Darryl Willis, 64, Helena, and Dale Erickson, 54, Missoula, were "disfellowshipped" in the wake of their conviction for defrauding Una Anderson, a 101-year-old Deer Lodge woman, out of her life savings of $6.5 million.
"Disfellowshipped" individuals are not only expelled from the church, but are also ostracized by other church members, the spokesperson said.
Brown's press secretary deferred further questions to church elder Mike Murphy in Deer Lodge. Murphy said although neither of the white-
collar criminals belonged to the local congregation, they were introduced to Anderson — who was a church member for more than 50 years — by a mutual friend from the Deer Lodge group. That introduction led to an elaborate befriend-and-betray scheme spanning several years, court records show.
Aside from a $400,000 brokerage fee for illegally and secretly selling Una Anderson's $5.3 million Powell County ranch for $4 million, and more than
$2 million used to finance a failed effort to establish Montana's first foreign capital depository off-shore banking set up, numerous loans, large and small, were made to church members and relatives of Erickson and Willis, records show. Only a few were repaid.
Those records say Willis and Erickson convinced Anderson that entrusting to them the fortune she amassed during years of hard ranch work and frugal living would be "more in line with her spiritual beliefs."
As time went by, Anderson was influenced by other church members who became progressively more involved and controlling in her care and daily life, records show.
During a sentencing hearing earlier this month, Janel Pliley, an Adult Protective Services social worker, told the court that Anderson's finances, activities and associations were closely monitored by several church members who caused a division between Anderson and her family members.
"She was under watch 24 hours a day," Pliley told the court. "She was basically held prisoner in her own house. "
Pliley reported the case to Powell County authorities in September 2001 after family members noticed suspicious goings-on during visits to Anderson's home.
Murphy said Willis and Erickson's misuse of their positions of trust as elders does not reflect on or involve other church members. Members of the congregation who cared for Anderson did so with the best of intentions, and that a lack of communication between Anderson's family and the church led to a lack of trust. He said the actions of Willis and Erickson breached the family's trust in the church in general.
Sarah Kelson, Anderson's niece who lives with and cares for her, sees things differently. She says church people literally ran family members off at Anderson's modest one-story home on the outskirts of town when they tried to visit.
"There certainly was a lack of trust," Kelson said Wednesday. "But there was no lack of communication. (Murphy) himself ordered me out of this house. He told me I should leave and the church would take care of everything."
Murphy explained that the church members support the sentencing of the two men, and that Jehovah's Witnesses "never shield anyone from prosecution."
"There is no justification for what those men did," Murphy said. "We feel horrible about what has happened to Una and we feel horrible about what has happened to her family. They lost their heritage as well as their money."
Murphy said members are also distraught over the loss of Anderson's companionship.
"She has very close friends in the Deer Lodge congregation who still consider her close friends," Murphy said. "Now they are not able to associate with her because of what these two men did."
Again, Kelson offers a different perspective. "I'm sure they are distraught," Kelson said Wednesday. "They were all sucking money off of her. The piggy bank closed."
Reporter Vera Haffey may be reached via e-mail at vhaffey@in-tch.com.
Another Elders & Fraud story:
Jehovah's Witness Elder ordered to repay $4.7 million to fleeced flock A jehovah's Witnesss elder was ordered by a federal judge to pay more than $4.7 million in restitution to almost 50 victims of a Ponzi-like con game – many of them elderly members of his own congregation. (updated 03/18/2003)