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It's really ticks me off when the Christian nut jobs
say they are a 1,000 times better then non-Christians.
Of course that is a bunch of rubbish. 90 percent of the people in prisons are Christians, which reflects the fact that 90 percent of the American population is Christians. 'Christian' con artist gets 5 years in prison by Robert Anglen - Mar. 5, 2012 04:44 PM The Republic | azcentral.com A Valley con man who used promises of Christian goodwill to prey on churchgoers in Arizona and 12 other states will spend the next five years in prison. Edward Purvis of Chandler was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court last week on charges of illegally controlling an enterprise and fraud, ending a bizarre seven-year case that involved fake gold mines, phony investment schemes, bribery of a police officer and bogus lawsuits against several public officials. Purvis, who pleaded guilty to the charges as part of a plea deal in January, apologized in court to his victims, friends and his family. He and his supporters blamed the scheme on a former business partner who turned state's evidence and will be sentenced next month. Authorities say Purvis and his partner, Gregg Wolfe, operated a Ponzi scheme through a non-profit called Nakami Chi Group Ministries International, which promised to fund Christian causes around the globe while repaying investors 24 percent annual returns. A Ponzi, or pyramid, scheme is an investment scam that uses money from new investors to pay old investors. Nakami's investors included at least one pastor, church elders and members of Chandler Christian Church and Vineyard Church in Avondale. Purvis and Wolfe told investors that Nakami was worth $170 billion and controlled assets around the world, including gold mines, Australian developments, telecommunication firms, banks and a Phoenix technology company. One of Nakami's investors, Rouzanna Burton of Buckeye, told the court how she and her husband were lured into the scheme through church. "If you spoke against him, you were against the church," she said while fighting to control her emotions. "When we told him we were going to authorities, he (Purvis) said, 'If you go to the government, you will never get your money back.' " Assistant Arizona Attorney General Michael Flynn said in court that Purvis stalked and groomed investors in much the same way a child molester preys on children. "This is a heinous crime," he said, adding that 44 victims in Arizona lost about $4 million. "This has been a crime of financial violence." Court records showed Purvis used investor's money for cars, jewelry, a down payment on an $800,000 home, excursions to Las Vegas, gambling debts, personal investments and other expenses. About a dozen friends and relatives of Purvis spoke in his defense during the hearing, begging the court for mercy. They said Purvis was the victim of a conspiracy between state investigators and The Arizona Republic, which has been covering his case since 2006. Purvis, who has been incarcerated for nearly three years on charges related to the fraud case, sat quietly in a black- and white-striped prison jumpsuit, head lowered over the defense table and nodding as supporters addressed the court. They said Purvis used investor money to help build a church in India. And they said he has become a role model for prisoners in Yuma, where he started his own ministry. Some maintained the only reason Purvis pleaded guilty was to prevent his wife, Maureen Purvis, from being charged in the scheme, which was part of his deal with authorities. Friends and relatives also painted Maureen as a victim, telling the court that the case has damaged her reputation and ended her career as a nursing- home administrator. In 2008, a civil court judge ordered Purvis, Wolfe and their wives to repay $11 million to investors defrauded through Nakami. The judge noted that there was ample evidence to show that Maureen and Allison Wolfe knowingly benefited from the scheme. The verdict was later reduced to $8 million. Robert Eckert, chief investigator for the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates securities in Arizona, testified in 2010 that Purvis and his wife were tied to an international money-laundering operation. Eckert said a foreign account had been used to pay Maureen Purvis $5,000 a month since 2008. Eckert said he is glad the case is over. "It is the culmination of seven years of work," he said. "We can look at this and say justice has been served." Purvis was first sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for bribing a Chandler police officer and for filing a series of bogus legal claims against public officials, including a judge, in an attempt to derail the Corporation Commission's investigation. Purvis was initially released from prison in 2009. But he was rearrested in 2010 after The Republic documented his efforts to promote a gold-mine project to potential investors while on probation. Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen last week could have sentenced Purvis anywhere from 42 to 90 months in prison. Citing aggravating circumstances, he gave Purvis five years plus seven years probation and ordered him to repay Arizona investors $3.8 million. With time served, Purvis will be eligible for release around 2016. Robert Anglen investigates consumer issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Reach him at robert.anglen@arizonarepublic.com |