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PEVEI t1_j6uvycu wrote

There's a reason so many pyramid schemes, MLM scams and the like target Mormons.

131

macross1984 t1_j6uwmid wrote

The suspect pitched investment that was pitched as a nearly risk-free opportunity to earn annual returns of 50 percent by lending money to slip-and-fall victims awaiting checks after the settlement of their lawsuits.

Anyone with common sense will know that such return is too good to be true scenario.

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Nullarni t1_j6v11yy wrote

Mormons out west seem to be target by schemes like this and pyramid schemes as well. I think it is because they tend to be a tight knit community, who puts too much trust in other church members. I lived in Utah for several years and I saw multiple friends and coworkers get sucked into “multi-level marketing” schemes. It’s very discouraging to see. The people running these schemes are preying on people’s hope and desperation for a better life.

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4Robo44 t1_j6v1gmo wrote

Hold up… Mormons or morons? Same thing I guess.

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groveborn t1_j6v1zdr wrote

Replying to Colorado-Sunshine (#1,699,983)

You'd think so, but for every objection raised they have an answer that is plausible to anyone who might believe in God (and already believe what they do).

I had to already be on my way out to even be able to hear the problems. It's pretty much this way in all religions, too.

If you are thinking "I don't suffer from this", whether that's because you're religious or not, you do. Nobody is immune to errors in thinking.

We all know things that are simply wrong.

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molotovzav t1_j6v2r9l wrote

Replying to Nullarni (#1,699,977)

I think it's also since their church is essentially run like a ponzee scheme mixed with a real estate racket when it comes to tithing and what the church spends money on...it's easy for them to fall victim to the same scheme, often ran by the same people. There's a lot of Mormons in the top brass of mlms too.

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GO2462 t1_j6v45oj wrote

The worst part of this story is that I can’t read it because it comes from the Washington Post.

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whistlingbatter t1_j6v5juj wrote

tbf, Mormonism is a Ponzi scheme preying on gullible people for +10% of their income

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999others t1_j6v8sb9 wrote

I thought that said morons and well.....

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neel_jung t1_j6va7a7 wrote

A reminder that archive.ph exists 🙂

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Mythosaurus t1_j6vju5q wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,699,839)

Same tactics as Alex Jones or Nigerian princes. They know the small number of people willing to fall for their BS are out there, so they spam media to up the chanced of getting a random mark

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Art-Zuron t1_j6vmcmq wrote

Considering the Mormon church itself is basically a massive MLM, it's not a surprise.

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bigt503 t1_j6vnl1s wrote

Let that be a lesson to you! If anybody is gonna screw Mormons out of their money it’s gonna be the church of LDS!

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SofieTerleska t1_j6vpmm9 wrote

Replying to Nullarni (#1,699,977)

Yes, I lived in Utah as well and Mormons in general tended to center their social lives around their ward a lot more than most other churchgoers do now -- I would say they're more like the average mainline Protestant or Catholic was fifty or sixty years ago in that they often live in neighborhoods with coreligionists, attend the same church, go to the same stake events etc. It's not surprising that they're more susceptible to this, but I don't think it's their particular doctrine that makes them susceptible, it's the social closeness and reliance on each other. And yes, I sat through many a Mary Kay presentation, but nothing like this. I would have thought that promised rate of return was a bit much even for the average Utah County resident.

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PuellaBona t1_j6vvr7t wrote

Dang. Anyone notice that the investigative journalist originally working on this story was stabbed by a city employee he was investigating? So sad.

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HeckaGosh t1_j6wamlm wrote

The tithing they pay is the bigger scam of around 10 billion a year.

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technerd1988 t1_j6wd6ac wrote

This religion IS a scam so its just scammers scamming scammers. Bad memories man.....I was forced into this crap

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Chippopotanuse t1_j6wik8u wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,699,839)

Yup.

Grifter: “Hey, wanna be really shitty and make some quick money off of other people’s misfortune?”

Mormon: “Okay…you have my attention, go on.”

Grifter: “Well, you know when someone gets really hurt and is going to obtain a settlement for their injuries? Often times they have huge medical bills they need to pay now. We will lend them money and charge insanely gouging interest rates to profiteer off of their misfortune while they wait for their settlement checks to arrive, which can take years.”

Mormon: “Oh, interesting, what do you charge for interest? Ten percent? That’s why I tithe to Heavenly Father for all he gives me!”

Grifter: “Oh frig no. More like fifty percent! Now…can I count on you to write us a hundred thousand dollar check so we can lend it to injured people in a very un-Christlike way?”

Mormon: “I was thinking more like a million. Can I tell my friends about this too? They would be interested.”

Grifter “Bless you Brother Levi, and make sure to tithe the church 10% of your profits”

Mormon: “I sure will. Heavenly Father would be very proud of what we are doing here.”

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WhileNotLurking t1_j6win8p wrote

Replying to Colorado-Sunshine (#1,699,983)

Not sure how Mormons are and more or less of a con than any other organization religion practiced today.

They are all cons (perhaps with different motives) but all generally rely on obedience, dogmatic practices, faith, and other qualities that mimic the Mormons.

We just give a pass to more mainstream religions - often because people grew up in them (or still are).

We refer to Greek and Roman "mythology" but people get really pissed when you call it Christian mythology

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9Wind t1_j6wl0rq wrote

Replying to WhileNotLurking (#1,702,465)

That is a very abrahamic view on religion that thinks every religion acts like the abrahamic religions common to Europe, and ignores mormonism's creation by rewriting the history of indigenous people for financial gain and racism.

Mormonism is closer to the Hoteps saying native americans were black settlers from of a long lost black empire than it is a religion.

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dhusk t1_j6wr1xc wrote

So one Ponzi scheme targeted another one?

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Blarg0ist t1_j6x4ok2 wrote

Isn't the FBI chock full of Mormons? Or is that the CIA?

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Dr_Quiznard t1_j6x9pdz wrote

Replying to Qlinkenstein (#1,700,453)

Seriously, why do we give Mormons a free pass? I get it, all religions are mythology, but come on! The whole mess was made up by a conman and well documented as a fraudulent enterprise from the start!

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Actual__Wizard t1_j6x9ssr wrote

Replying to PuellaBona (#1,701,646)

The Mormon church itself is a massive scam that has amassed over 100 billion dollars.

I would fully expect there to be massive corruption of state and city officials in the state of Utah.

You would think with that kind of money that the "church" would spend some of the money to try to deal with the toxic dust that is likely going to kill many of their members as the great salt lake dries up, but I guess they're just going to let them die.

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Golluk t1_j6xbset wrote

Replying to 9Wind (#1,702,561)

I was under the impression Mormonism was a continuation/update of abrahamic religion after Jesus. Similar to Islam and Muhammed, but now it's Joseph Smith and Mormon.

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Succulentmeditator t1_j6xk1r0 wrote

Replying to Dr_Quiznard (#1,704,015)

Probably because many Mormons you’ll meet out in the wild through work, education and social circles away from majority Mormon areas are kind, conscientious, sober, family focused nice people. That’s been my experience getting to know some Mormons who weren’t met in their proselytizing missions anyway. Got to know a brilliant 7th day Adventist like that once too, she went on to get a dual JD/MD degree. 🤷

I hear it’s a lot different in majority Mormon areas, but haven’t had exposure to that.

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Rustic_Professional t1_j6xmlm1 wrote

Everyone's so busy making fun of Mormons that they're missing that this may be another case of law enforcement shooting someone who was attempting to comply with their instructions.

>One of the agents — identified only as “J.M.” in a detailed criminal complaint filed March 4 in the U.S. District Court of Nevada — opened his suit jacket and flashed his badge.

>Beasley stepped fully into the doorway. He held a loaded pistol against his head.

>“Easy, easy,” yelled J.M.

>“Drop the gun,” shouted a second agent

>As the FBI agents shouted at him, Beasley said later in an interview with The Post, he pointed the pistol toward the ground.

>He was doing what the three agents had asked of him, Beasley said, adding that “I never pointed my gun anywhere except for my head.”

>The FBI maintains in its criminal complaint, though, that he aimed the weapon at the agents. At least one opened fire, striking Beasley in the chest and shoulder.

...

>He was taken to a hospital before being charged with assault on a federal officer.

I don't suppose the FBI were wearing body cameras.

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Dr_Quiznard t1_j6xpik6 wrote

Replying to Succulentmeditator (#1,704,611)

I'd agree that mormons are certainly...let's say enterprising folks. As for kind and conscientious, I'd have to disagree. Mormons are phony-nice, and their actions are never for the betterment of society at large, but for themselves and the enrichment of their cult. Also, their level of indoctrination is greater than your average christian denomination. I've never encountered a mormon doing something that doesnt benefit mormons.

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atomic1fire t1_j6yxjas wrote

Replying to Colorado-Sunshine (#1,699,983)

Nah.

It's probably more so that if the scam artists can convince a few members of the congregation to go in on it, their interpersonal relationships and religious background ("They'd never give me a bad deal") will keep anyone from looking too closely at it, and of those that are skeptical, they're probably not going to say anything to the FBI or secret service because they don't want their friends or church leadership to lose all their money to an investigation or attract unwanted attention from people aware of the sudden financial windfall.

Given the reports that people were told to keep it "hush hush", I'm guessing a few knew the money wasn't legit but went along with it anyway because they were profiting off it at the time, and too much oversight might damage that income.

It wouldn't shock me if MLMs targeted any closely knit group that could give their scam a sense of legitimacy.

e.g #girlboss and the terms affiliation with MLM schemes targeting women.

1

9Wind t1_j6zcwkb wrote

Replying to Golluk (#1,704,140)

Mormonism is a strain of american pseudohistory like the hoteps

They say the aztecs were a lost jewish tribe, quetzacoatl was jesus, native americans are red because they are cursed by god, and a lot of other racist attacks on history. During the time mormonism rose, it was one of many ideas trying to justify genocide.

Saying mormonism is a continuation is like saying the third reich is just a contuation of the 2nd reich ignoring all the things that made the 3rd reich unique like racial essentialism and pseudoscience ideas on race.

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being_sentient t1_j72bm4v wrote

The Mormon (LDS) church was founded by convicted con-man Joseph Smith on transparently false claims and fantastical lies so great that fraud is an understatement

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BayonetTrenchFighter t1_j7b8fwa wrote

Dang some of these comments.

“If they were tricked into it, the probably deserved it” type things.

Same with being Mormon they deserve it. What is this comment section?

1