We know the Bible from Genesis to Revelations," the bishop said, "but we don't know stock
Archive: Psychics & Other Frauds
"Remember the Lord your God," Dukes said, quoting Deuteronomy, "for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth."
The pitch resonated with William Scott, a retired Secret Service agent and born-again Christian, on that August afternoon in 2000. Dukes and his partner, Teresa Hodge, appealed in equal parts to Scott's faith, investment hopes and charitable desire to plant money in African American companies
. . .
For at least a year, according to federal and state investigators, Dukes, 33, and Hodge, 39, convincingly preached their gospel of faith and finance to more than a thousand people. From their base in Prince George's County, where they were regular guests on a local gospel radio show, they expanded to the District and 18 states, working through a network of small black Pentecostal churches and pastors who introduced the pair to their parishioners and then passed them on to other congregations. Some of the pastors invested church money as well as their own.
. . .
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit alleging that Dukes and Hodge defrauded investors of $1.3 million through Financial Warfare Club, and its successor, Covenant EcoNet. Almost all of the investors lost their money, and the companies they supposedly were investing in were shams, the SEC alleges.
Good-Faith Investments Gone Bad
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