Minister made questionable millions of 9/11 and Katrina
Offline http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-tragedy-meant-big-money-ny-minister-162434755.html
AP IMPACT: Tragedy meant big money for NY minister
By | Associated Press – 9 hrs agoNEW YORK (AP) — Before the Sept. 11 attacks, the Rev. Carl Keyes was a little-known pastor of a small New York City congregation searching for members and money.
When the twin towers fell, his fortunes changed.
Donors poured $2.5 million into the minister's charity to help 9/11 victims. More opportunities to raise relief money would come later, with at least another $2.3 million collected for efforts along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, in the poorest corners of West Virginia and Tennessee, and even in remote African villages.
Tens of millions more flowed through his fingers from the sale of church properties.
But Keyes, a one-time construction worker, did more than help the needy with the millions donated — he helped himself.
(Not surprising by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that stories like this could give some people out there pause before they open up their wallets to these church leaders).
“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno
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And if I was less ethical, I, too, would be worth millions.
People taking advantage of stuff like this disgust me. Things like this pop up everytime something big hits, and it comes from every angle.
Kind of like L. Ron Hubbard and his : "If you want to make millions start a religion." crap.
I just don't have it in me to DO something like that to people.
I don't know how these people can exploit people's naive behavior and sleep at night.
There was a recent conversation a buddy and I had about those dating scams on the Internet. (There was some article in the paper about it, that brought the subject up). But anyway, how it generally works is some scammer gets a fake photo of some hot young chick, then sends it out to lonely dudes and practically milks them out of every cent that they can.
Now, my buddy's take on that was : " C'mon, if people are that fucking stupid they almost deserve to get scammed."
Now, while I partly agree, I don't fully agree at all. I think that it is just plain wrong for assholes to prey on dumbass people (irregardless of how stupid the scam is) and the scammers ought to get what is coming to them.
I had a lot of fun with one of those e-mails from a "rich Nigerian prince" last year. I had him convinced that I was going to give him my credit card info and send him a check for 1200 dollars. I had the scammer believing it, hook, line and sinker and then at the last second, I sent him an email that said : "I have been playing a game with you the whole time asshole. How does it feel to get conned ?"
Shortly after I got a comical rant in the email from them. I just blocked them out of the computer and had a good laugh. 99% of that shit goes into my Spam box, but this one got through and I just decided to have some fun.
“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno
I got one - "secret shopper" scam. I got this offer - go to Walmart and price out iPads. Okay. Send in the completed form. Cost me a few bucks in gas. Next, got a check snail mail, for $1,500 to buy an iPad and send them the iPad and receipt, the balance mine to keep. Yeah, I was to pay postage as well. I took the uncashed check to my bank. They sent it to their fraud department. The next email I got from these people "Where is the iPad? Please hurry and buy it." I told them where their check was. No more emails.
Hope the FBI got them, but hard to tell anymore. There are so many.
These people must have got free iPads from at least a few suckers. And then they could resell them - eBay or Craigslist or somewhere. And they could sell them at a price that would make most people over look the reason for their great deal.
But even scammers like these don't set my teeth on edge like the religious ones.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
The best ever will always be the P-P-P-Powerbook Prank.
"Jeff was never heard from again"
Not sure how successful it actually was. > >
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.