Reasons to Picket -
"Scientology is like Heroin"
From: GSNews
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: "Scientology is like heroin"
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 16:47:05 -0400
Message-ID:
"Scientology is like Heroin"
Zurich, Switzerland
July 8, 1999
Tages-Anzeiger
Both of the men accused of having committed fraud in the
amount of millions have since then left Scientology. As did
the primary accused, the information technician accused of
accessory also gave hundreds of thousands of franks to
the sect for courses. "For me Scientology was like heroin.
My angle of view was restricted more and more to the
organization," he said before the court. In his departing
[the sect] he had been declared to be a "Subversive
Person" [sic]. The Scientologists also count the judges
among these [SPs]. (pjm)
Account holders' pockets picked
A former Scientologist is alleged to have cheated German
investors out of 22 million franks. Yesterday he had to
appear before the district court.
by Peter Johannes Meier
His career with the Scientologists drove the 55 year old
primary accused deeper and deeper into financial ruin. "I
gave out about 450,000 franks for development courses
to Scientology," explained the lawyer who recently left the
sect, and who is also a former St. Gallen investigative
magistrate. Speculations gone bad as an independent
options dealer and the purchase of several hundred
lithographs by Scientology founder Ron Hubbard were
responsible, in part, for his mountain of debt going up to
3.5 million franks in the beginning of 1991.
It was in this situation that the accused sought out contact
with a Munich financial advisor. The two of them are said
to have defrauded [investors] of millions. In actuality they
dealt with over 300 primarily German investors who were
relieved of about 22 million franks between 1991 and
1994.
Appearance on Wall Street
The duo advertised for a "Federal Association of
American Banks," which never even existed, in German
newspaper inserts. They offered annual dividends of from
9-10 percent on investments secured with German marks.
By use of the term "Federal Association" the false
impression was given that reputable U.S. banks backed
the institution. In deed and in truth the "Federal
Association" was backed only by two so-called office
service agencies which were operated by the accused
himself under the misleading names of "Rothschild Bank"
and "First American Insurance and Banking Corporation."
A service office for "First American" was set up on Wall
Street in New York which forwarded any inquiries back
to Germany.
The Swiss primary accused's mission was the acquisition
of customers and the gaining of their confidence. When
one of the investors wanted to visit the "First American" in
New York on his trip to America, things got ticklish for
the two primary accused. They decided to stage a show
on Wall Street. For this reason the Swiss man traveled to
New York with a specially prepared company plaque and
mounted it at 67 Wall Street. He even arranged to have
receptionist there for the occasion. The visiting customer
showed that he was impressed and fostered no further
suspicion. On the contrary: until 1994 he introduced at
least 20 other investors to the front company. With the
assurance that their money was insured against loss by the
American nation, the customers were led further down the
false path. It was not until 1994 that an investor noticed
that the cover company was not even a member of the
federal deposit insurance corporation. The deal blew up.
The German partner of the accused Swiss man
disappeared with 13.7 million franks and has not been
seen since then.
The Swiss man allegedly transferred most of the
customers' money to his German business partner. The
money was not invested. For the contracts he closed he
took in about 600,000 franks commission.
Accessory to Fraud
A 39 year old colleague of the Swiss primary accused also
stood before the court yesterday; he is also a former
Scientologist. He had been accused of setting up an EDP
[electronic data processing] system in the office of the
accused in order to make his acquisition work easier. The
accused admitted that he had had suspicions during his
employment that possibly everything was not OK with the
business. The district attorney accused him of accessory in
commercial fraud and multiple falsification of documents.
Ten months imprisonment suspended was asked for him.
For the primary accused the district attorney asked 4.5
years imprisonment and the return of illegally acquired
finances in the amount of 600,000 franks. He is said to
have incriminated himself for commercial fraud and
multiple falsification of documents. In contrast, he sees
himself as a victim of his gullibility in regards to his business
partner. After the customers signed their contract he says
he had nothing else to do with it. His defense counsel
requested he be released from custody or get a thorough
psychiatric exam. Sentence is still pending.
----------------------------------------------------
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