Posted: 5/29/2011 4:55:16 PM EDT
|
A new guy in my religious congregation is trying to gin up investors to help him re-start a failed business.
I did a quick google on him, and found a newspaper article from 1993 that stated that he had been accused of fraud and burglary for skipping out on rent and trying to sell a landlord's furniture out of a furnished house––to the sum of $100,000. I can see that he tried to flee, was arrested in Europe, extradited, and charged in the Philadelphia area, and that his wife (now ex) cooperated, and got a suspended sentence and a fine. However, trail ends with the newspaper article––it isn't clear what happened to him later... case dismissed? Jail time? Plea bargain? I confronted him with the newspaper article, and he said, "it's complicated, but I didn't do it, and I'm not going to talk about it". "You either believe me or you don't". Now, from the newspaper, I know that he was tried in a Philadelphia court. I know the name of a (retired) FBI agent who arrested him when he was extradited from Europe, who now lives in the Tampa area. I know the name of the aggrieved landlord. However, I can't find phone numbers for the FBI guy or the landlord on free searches. How can I get to the bottom of what finally happened? Can I do some sort of FOIA query in Philadelphia on a 1993 case? Anyone know how I can find the FBI agent who now lives in Tampa FL? (Needless to say, people in my congregation are NOT investing) |
|
Did you try Pennsylvania's online court records? It may be too old to be on there though.
http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJ.aspx |
|
I did, 1993 is apparently too old?
Quoted:
Did you try Pennsylvania's online court records? It may be too old to be on there though. http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJ.aspx |
|
Amazing what you can find with a little digging.
I now know the name (and phone) of the judge who heard the case. I know the name of the public attorney who defended the guy. I know the name (and facebook) of the victim. I know the name and phone number of the victim's property manager. I will call a couple and email the rest, and see what I get. |
|
Are you considering investing with this guy, or are you trying to protect the congregation from getting fleeced? If it's the first, stop looking. Grab your wallet and run away. Run away fast, yesterday. If you or the some of the congregation are considering investing a sizable sum with this guy, spend some money on some paid background searches, or hire a detective. You've given a great description of affinity fraud. Con men and scammers do great business in churches. Your description of this guy doesn't pass the sniff test. Take a pass on the "opportunity". |
|
The answer is "B", I'm trying to build a solid enough case that I can present the info to the board, etc., so they warn people not to invest.
Quoted:
Are you considering investing with this guy, or are you trying to protect the congregation from getting fleeced? If it's the first, stop looking. Grab your wallet and run away. Run away fast, yesterday. If you or the some of the congregation are considering investing a sizable sum with this guy, spend some money on some paid background searches, or hire a detective. You've given a great description of affinity fraud. Con men and scammers do great business in churches. Your description of this guy doesn't pass the sniff test. Take a pass on the "opportunity". |
|
Quoted:
Are you considering investing with this guy, or are you trying to protect the congregation from getting fleeced? If it's the first, stop looking. Grab your wallet and run away. Run away fast, yesterday. If you or the some of the congregation are considering investing a sizable sum with this guy, spend some money on some paid background searches, or hire a detective. You've given a great description of affinity fraud. Con men and scammers do great business in churches. Your description of this guy doesn't pass the sniff test. Take a pass on the "opportunity". +1. The OP already has all the info he needs. The discussion with the board goes like this: "It is a known fact that Person X has only been with our congregation a short time. It is a known fact that he has a criminal background. It is a known fact that he refuses to discuss it. It is a known fact he has asked people to just "trust him" (con-men frequently guilt-trip people into trusting them) by investing money with him, despite the fact that he will not discuss relevent details of past alleged fraud on his part. It is a known fact that con-men prey on churches and other "affinity" groups in exactly this manner, knowing that there tends to be a high level of trust amongst members. I urge you to not endorse or recommend this investment, and to remind the congregation that any investment opportunity should first be evaluated by a registered investment advisor and/or attorney." I would also confront this guy, and tell him straight-up: "Look, we know there are questions about your past. And frankly, your refusal to discuss that matter only causes people to ask more questions, and does not exactly engender trust. Nothing personal, but it would be stupid of people to just "trust you" given your unwillingness to openly discuss past events. If that's a problem for you, then perhaps this congregation isn't where you belong." All you can do is warn people. Ultimately, you can't protect everyone from making stupid choices. This guy sounds like trouble with a capital "T". Con-men like him are a dime a dozen. |
|
SCORE!!!
By simply figuring out which court he was arraigned in, I was able to get a docket PDF from the Pennsylvania court system! Turns out he was charged with 6 counts, 4 felonies and 2 misdemeanors; he did a plea bargain and pled to 1 felony of theft by taking. Sentence was time served (12 mos by that point) and 3 years probation. |
|
I Quoted: SCORE!!! By simply figuring out which court he was arraigned in, I was able to get a docket PDF from the Pennsylvania court system! Turns out he was charged with 6 counts, 4 felonies and 2 misdemeanors; he did a plea bargain and pled to 1 felony of theft by taking. Sentence was time served (12 mos by that point) and 3 years probation. It sounds like it might be an interesting church service tomorrow,  |
|
Quoted:
SCORE!!! By simply figuring out which court he was arraigned in, I was able to get a docket PDF from the Pennsylvania court system! Turns out he was charged with 6 counts, 4 felonies and 2 misdemeanors; he did a plea bargain and pled to 1 felony of theft by taking. Sentence was time served (12 mos by that point) and 3 years probation. Charged with 6 counts, including four felonies, and he's claiming "I didn't do nothin'"?!? Yeah, this guy is trouble. I would confront the guy about it, and see how he reacts. I'd bet $1 that he'll get pissed, and accuse YOU of some sort of impropriety for checking into his past. Con men love to feign outrage when caught, and will often try to turn the situation around so that it's all about you instead of him. I would also contact his parole officer too if he's still under probation. Would serve him right. |