They Used God to Run a Ponzi Scheme, and the Radio Station Looked the Other Way

Another Ponzi Scheme, Another Round of Fake Justice

Two men in San Antonio just got convicted for running a Ponzi scheme. They were pillars of their church community. They used faith to sell fraud. And now everyone involved is calling it justice.

It is not justice. The victims didn’t get their money back. They never do. These guys will be out in a few years, and they’ll start again somewhere else with a new group of trusting people. I’ve watched this cycle repeat itself for three decades. The names change. The pitch changes slightly. The outcome doesn’t.

Affinity Fraud is the Most Effective Scam in the Book

Affinity fraud works because it exploits the one thing that should be protected, which is community trust. Here’s how the playbook works every single time.

• The scammer embeds themselves in a church, ethnic group, or professional network
• They build visibility and perceived credibility over months or years
• They leverage shared identity so that skepticism feels like betrayal
• By the time victims realize what happened, the money has been moved

Using God to sell a scam is not a new idea. It’s a recurring strategy because it works. And I am going to keep calling it out every single time I see it.

The Media Platforms Handing Fraudsters a Megaphone

Here’s the part of this story that doesn’t make the headlines. I’ve been running the longest continuously running financial radio program in the country for 26 years. And I have personally been bumped off the air by financial firms that paid radio stations to take my time slot.

The radio station takes the money. The program director shrugs. The scammer now has a legitimate-sounding platform and an audience that assumes editorial standards exist.

They don’t. Not always.

• Paid financial programming on radio is not vetted financial advice
• Radio stations have a financial incentive to take the money and zero accountability when the scheme collapses
• Listeners assume that being on the air means someone checked the credentials. Nobody checked.

This is how ordinary, intelligent people get taken. My college friend, a sharp and accomplished person, just went through this. It can happen to anyone who doesn’t know what to look for.

The Only Real Defense You Have

I get financial scams across my desk every single day. I have search engines set up specifically to find them. And here’s what I’ve learned about spotting them fast.

• The effort test never fails. Real returns require real risk or real work. If someone is offering you high returns with low risk and minimal effort, the risk is being hidden from you.
• Urgency is a manipulation tool. Any legitimate investment opportunity can survive a 48-hour waiting period. If they say it can’t, walk away.
• Look up credentials yourself. FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC’s adviser database exist for a reason. Use them before you hand anyone a dollar.
• Be most skeptical of the people you already trust. That’s exactly what affinity fraud counts on.

I’ve been pushing this rock up the hill for 30 years. It rolls back down every time. But I’m not stopping, because the people who get taken deserve better than a system that convicts the fraudster and calls it a win while the victims are left with nothing.