Fraud Victims: “He Was Christian; Of Course I Would Believe Him”

No matter the volumes of evidence to the contrary, theists still believe that other theists — especially those in their own tribe — are automatically trustworthy.

I was reminded of that when I read the story of Vincent Ciccone and his wife Karen, Canadians who, on Wednesday, in Kitchener, Ontario, were arrested for large-scale financial fraud.

The RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] says that investors were lured in with promises of 20 to 30 per cent returns on investments that included resort properties, development property, and day-trading. However, investigators determined the money was not invested but instead put into a Ponzi scheme, with newer investors providing cash that was present as returns to previous investors. The previous investors were then convinced to re-invest those returns.

Why were the victims snookered? In part because

… The suspects would start meetings with prayers, a move to instill confidence in investors, said RCMP Insp. Todd Gilmore at a Wednesday news conference.

“We had victims say things like, ‘He was Christian, of course I would believe him’.”