Mennonite accountant admits $60M Ponzi scheme to scam Mennonite and Amish investors

[TexasTowelie]

A Mennonite accountant in Berks County admitted Thursday he ran a $60 million Ponzi scheme that preyed on Mennonite and Amish investors.

Philip Elvin Riehl, 68, of Frystown, near Interstate 78, pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy.

He faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison and a $5.5 million fine. Riehl also must pay $59.8 million in restitution to the victims of the 10-year scam.

Federal prosecutors declined to say how many, if any, of his victims are Lancaster County residents.

Read more: https://lancasteronline.com/business/local_business/mennonite-accountant-admits-m-ponzi-scheme-to-scam-mennonite-and/article_2ab6a456-5a47-11ea-89fb-7bb0f31836a1.html

[Midnight Writer]

1. Goddamn we got those "religious investor" groups around here and they are crooked as all hell.

They get these country pastors to invite them in and then they fleece the flock with a bunch of Jesus jive, slick portfolios printed on fancy paper, and insane projections like 800% per year.

[FakeNoose]

2. This guy sounds like Bernie Madoff for the Menonnite and Amish

I would presume that many of these folk would be easy to fool with investment trickery, since it's not their world and most aren't trained to read financial or legal documents. Mr. Riehl should be ashamed of himself, but of course he probably isn't at all.