TV Preacher Called Fraud

Peter Popoff is offering "debt cancellation kits" that he claims can wipe out all debt. Despite the fact it was revealed he used radios to fool audiences during services, the TV preacher and faith healer reported more than a million dollars in income to his family from his nonprofit organization in 2005. KABC-TV has this video report on what many media watchdogs call a ministry based on fraud.

Winans Connected to Scam

Gospel music's Winans family may be facing a major scandal. Michigan regulators say Michael Winans Jr. led a Ponzi scheme that left hundreds of investors with more than $11 million in loses. The investment involved a Saudi Arabian crude oil bond and used the family name to "prey on church members" according to officials. The people involved, and that may include pastor Michael Winans Sr, did not have the proper licenses to sell securities in Michigan.

Ministry Accused of Inflating Aid

CBS News is accusing Feed the Children of making false claims about its work in Haiti. On its web site, the charity says donations funded medical relief at a large camp for 12,000 people in the Caribbean nation. But a network investigation found the camp was set up by local monks and nuns. CBS also says doctors did not treat as many patients as the ministry claims and the UN denies Feed the Children's claim that it was chosen to hand out food to the entire camp. The network says the organization was not feeding anyone at the location. Feed the Children responds to the report, "We will certainly look into the difference of opinion as to exactly how much help we're providing and exactly who is involved with it." There is more from the organization here.

Church Leaders Accused Of Scam

Two ministers and their brother, a Christian music singer, are accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme. WSMV-TV in Nashville reports.

Scam at 2 Large Churches

Police are looking for whoever bought thousands of dollars of cell phones in the names of two Raleigh, North Carolina area churches. Someone posing as a member of First Baptist Church of Smithfield and Centenary United Methodist Church ordered the mobile phones from Sprint. When they arrived at First Baptist, someone intercepted the paackages, but Centenary got to its package before the scammer did.

Computer Fraud Scheme

The California Attorney General's office is going after several companies that used to a computer scam to defraud churches. The companies leased equipment to less than tech-savvy churches for enormous amounts of money. The company may have operated in 10 other states, offering what sounded like free computers and kiosks that could serve as message boards. If the churches didn't cough up as much as $45,000, they companies hit them with late fees and filed lawsuits against them. Among those under investigation: Urban Interfaith Network and Television Broadcasting Online, Balboa Capital, United Leasing Associates of America, Banc of America Leasing and Capital LLC. BoA says it was unaware of what was going on.

Churches Say it was a Scam

Two dozen Michigan churches say they were tricked into signing leasing contracts for video terminals for interactive educational systems. Seven of those churches have filed a lawsuit against United Leasing of Waukesha, Wisconsin for $700,000. Also named in the suit: Television Broadcasting Online and the Urban Interfaith Network.

The churches agreed to put the kiosks in their buildings so parishioners could get information from the Internet and the church’s website. Pastors of the churches claim they were told the terminals were free and promised monthly revenue from commercial sponsorships. But sponsors never materialized. And some of the churches say United Leasing took thousands of dollars out of their accounts without permission.

United Leasing itself has already filed a suit against 39 churches in Arkansas, California, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The company claims these predominantly urban congregations owe nearly one-and-a-half-million dollars.

Scam at Rick Warren's Church

Two members of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church face criminal fraud charges along with four others in an alleged $52-million investment scam. They recruited sales people to push the scheme from one of the megachurches addiction recovery program. They even gave prospective investors copies of Warren’s bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life. They raised funds for Carolina Development came through promising big payouts from luxury developments that would be built next to celebrity-designed golf courses. What’s left of the company is being sold and given to settle IRS bills. Investors will get back less than 20 cents on the dollar.

Actress' Former Boyfriend Faces Prison

Actress Anne Hathaway's former boyfriend will be sentenced this week for his involvement in a church scam that Raffaello Follieri plead guilty to cheating investors out of millions. He claimed he could he could buy Catholic property at bargain prices. Because he had family connections to the Vatican. The Italian businessman used the money on a lavish lifestyle.

Funding-Raising Scam

There’s a scam in Columbus, Georgia involving a local church. Local media is reporting there are two men asking residents for money on behalf of the Columbus First Baptist Church. They claim a member of the church is facing surgery and a fund-raiser scheduled on her behalf. But senior pastor Jimmy Elder says the church is not involved in any such door-to-door fundraising.

Sceme Took Millions from Church-goers

South Carolina prosecutors say three men known as The Three Hebrew Boys scammed millions of dollars from church-goers. They enlisted some 7000 believers across the Carolinas with promises of great financial reward for small investments in foreign currencies, claiming God had saved them from financial ruin. But authorities say Tony Pough, Timothy McQueen and Joseph Brunson used the money on luxury items. They face 35 counts of mail fraud and $17 million has been frozen.

$25 million Scheme

Government investigators say Safevest, was not such a safe investment. They say the Mission Viejo, California based-company has been running a Ponzi scheme aimed at Christians. Jon G. Ervin and John V. Slye have been arrested by the FBI and face fraud charges for allegedly misappropriating at least $25 million. The money came from more than 500 investors who tought they were investing in commodity futures pools but the investment vehicles never existed. Slye claimed he was a pastor who had spent decades working as a missionary. More than two-thirds of the investors were church members.