The seniors in our family were scammed by Watchtower, for over 7 figures. How about yours? An interesting read today to give some insight.
One of the most egregious con-artists is Watchtower Bible
and Tract Society the “legal” entity for Jehovah’s Witnesses. Many retired Jehovah’s
Witnesses have been targeted over the years to “LOAN” money for various “special
projects” to further the “preaching work”, only to find they are
never to be repaid. Once potential targets are identified, Watchtower sends experienced JW financial salesmen to "Close" the "sale". Eventual requests for repayment are ignored repeatedly.
Letters go unanswered. Phone calls are never returned. Eventually, certified
letters implying legal action get VERBALLY answered claiming: “The loan was
forgiven verbally by the senior, in a private conversation with the local
Circuit Overseer”-(despite the senior JW suffering from cognitive decline). Of
course, requestors are reminded of the consequences of involving court action
against “the brothers”.
In our personal situation, after consulting with two law firms, our attorneys explained the multiple hurdles in pursuing Watchtower, even though the injured senior was cognitively impaired, AT THE TIME and had already given her child power of attorney. The professional legal opinion? Statute of limitation issues, out of state representation against a billion dollar corporation, and need to put an impaired Senior on the witness stand, made recovery expensive and unlikely, since Watchtower had already showed zero compassion or conscience for the elderly JW widow in question. What was Watchtowers official verbal phone response? : "Put her on Welfare".
Why
would an aged Jehovah’s Witness “loan” Watchtower their retirement Next
Egg? The NYT story explains: Quote: “For
many people, what is going on is they are looking to fulfill an unmet need for
companionship, an unmet need for financial security, an unmet need for a
purpose,” said Marti DeLiema, an
interdisciplinary gerontologist and assistant professor at the University of
Minnesota’s School of Social Work, who researches financial fraud and
exploitation.
Victims are often caught up in fantasies created by
perpetrators, isolating them from their real-life existence and families.”…… .” Older people may also be more
susceptible to the mind games that scammers are so adept at playing — using
fear, creating a sense of urgency or even stirring up excitement over the
prospects of a new romance or investment opportunity.( Or Paradise earth?)
The goal is to tip victims into a heightened state of
emotion where they are no longer thinking rationally but reacting to those
appeals, researchers at
the Stanford Center on Longevity, the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and
the AARP Fraud Watch Network found.
“They are looking for the victim’s emotional
Achilles’ heel,” said Doug Shadel, managing director for Fraud Prevention
Strategies, a consulting firm in Seattle, and a former state director for AARP
Washington.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/business/scam-con-artist-family-savings.html?unlocked_article_code=1.WU4.Sq1h.9M2qaeO0jK-T&smid=url-share
