....There are other ways Merriman's scheme may have steered money toward the church. He used part of his proceeds to amass hundreds of works by Renaissance artists and works by Rembrandt, displaying them in churches or church-sponsored facilities. It's possible, some LDS members say, that his exhibits lured other donations to the church merely out of appreciation....
....Merriman was excommunicated by the church in March.
Rembrandt's "Biblical Etchings" Exhibit at LDS.org
Related thread:
Ex-Mormon Bishop Charged in $20M Ponzi Scheme
Good for them.
If I get this straight, the guy was cheating people out of money and tithing on the ill gotten gains. That is just weird.
It is a sad situation for all those involved.
As Shawn Merriman’s alleged Ponzi scheme piled up millions during the past 15 years, another party likely benefited from his fraudulent fortune: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Starting with Joey Smith’s bank scam in kirkland and his home made phony $3 bills that he laundered in MO and elsewher, the mormons have a 180 year history of fraud...
Joey Smith was finede $1,000 for his part in that but he skipped out of town and never paid it...
Mormonism does not respect the authority of the United States government...
Because he wanted to continue his fiefdom/theocracy unhindered, Brigham Young was known to pray for the death of the US POTUS...
But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 1 Peter 2:10
and mormons practice their doctrines of thievery not only against the “Gentiles” which was considered not a sin...
But each other...
Joey Smith was GIVEN as in FREE several thousand acres to build Nauvoo...
Instead of just handing it out to his followers, as the giver intended, he lied to them and made them pay for it...
He made at least one million dollars from that “clever” deal...
Later, Brigham Young figured out ways to cheat his followers in SLC...
The handcart tragedy in which Brigham Young caused the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of European “saints”, came about from his greed...
In that scammed he made his followers pay for the passage twice...
The SLC “saints” had to “assist” the “pilgrims” and the European “saints” had to also pay for their own passage...
In the bulding of the rairoad through Utah, Brigham Young found several ways to cheat both the “Gentile” railroad and the US government plus his own followers...
Mormonism is based on lust for sex, money and power..
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:16
From the article: “While (the church) has no intention to keep any monies that were illegally obtained by a contributor, the church will wait until all the facts are in before making a decision, she said.
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Sounds familiar.
From Star Trek First Ferengi Rule of Acquisition: Once you have their money ... never give it back.