After Diane Gordon's husband died in a motorcycle crash in 2004, a million-dollar insurance settlement allowed her to stop working as a housekeeper. For help in managing her money, she turned to a financial adviser, Kurt Barton. She'd met him through their Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation west of Austin. Their common spirituality, she said, made her trust him; eventually, she placed all of her savings with Barton's company, Triton Financial. Three weeks ago, the company was taken over by state and federal regulators, who described Triton's finances as a $50 million "shell game." Now 57 years...