Friday, December 16, 2011

SEC:Father,Son Used Mormonism in $220M Plot; Raised Money from Investors for Their Own Usage

The Forbes website reports today (December 16, 2011) that two members of the (Mormon) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with securities fraud.

The SEC says a father and his son solicited investors -- by using their membership in the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints -- to make connections and win over the trust of prospective investors in a Ponzi scheme.

Since at least 2008, Wendell Jacobson and his son Allen Jacobson have raised $220 million from investors who thought they were investing in apartment communities. Instead, the money was transferred to various accounts, and then used to pay for other expenses the father and son had, the SEC said.

After filing its complaint today in federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah, the SEC obtained an emergency court order freezing the assets of the Jacobsons and their companies.

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