Scott Martin has been covering the financial markets since 1996 and the securities business since 2001. He was a long-time columnist for Research, market writer at CNNfn.com, and editor of Buyside; his work currently appears in publications like The Trust Advisor, Institutional Investor, and EmergingMoney.com.| Another Radio-Driven Investment Scheme Indicted For Fraud |
 |
| Monday, July 25, 2011 12:20 | ||
|
Federal prosecutors have formally indicted a 73-year-old religious talk radio host for allegedly bilking his listeners out of $194 million. If you're a private wealth advisor, please join Advisors4Advisors (A4A) to get its full benefits. Register now, and we will donate $20 of our $60 membership fee to Bubbles The Clown’s financial literacy program, and you can post an icon on your website saying you support Bubbles' 501(c)3 charitable organization. Plus, get other membership benefits, including:
Pat Kiley ran weekly radio show "Follow the Money" out of Minnesota, but the U.S. Attorney's Office argues that he advised his listeners to invest in a typical Ponzi scheme: guaranteed double-digit returns, completely liquid.
The scheme was marketed to Kiley's deeply religious audience between 2004 and 2009 as part of a vaguely apocalyptic scenario involving "financial armageddon."
He maintains his innocence and says he was only reading from scripts prepared by the rogue advisors at the center of the scheme -- who gave him access to a home recording studio to run his show, and who are now in jail.
Nonetheless, Kiley faces up to 20 years imprisonment himself if found guilty of wire and mail fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy.
His show seems to have been pulled from just about all of the 200 stations on which it ran.
Comments (1)Write commentYou must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
