It sounds odd, but I had experience with “affinity fraud” before I knew what it was called. As a forensic accountant I conducted investigations involving members of religious organizations where one member of the group was preyed upon by another member for financial gain—the proverbial “I have an investment deal for you.” Unfortunately, the “investment” was not as advertised, resulting in losses to many participants/“investors.”
So, what is affinity fraud? The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines affinity fraud as “investment scams that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly or professional groups. The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are—or pretend to be—members of the group. They often enlist respected community or religious leaders from within the group to spread the word about the scheme by convincing those people that a fraudulent investment is legitimate and worthwhile.”
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