Con men Raffaello Follieri (Anne Hathaway’s ex-) and Daniel Heath: both appealed to religiosity and both are likely addicts, along with one Charles Ponzi
Under watch:
Con man Daniel Heath, 51, sentenced to 127 years in prison on 400 counts, including grand theft, elderly abuse and filing false tax returns, for running a $180 million investment scam that bilked many of at least 1,800 elderly investors of their life savings. In classic Ponzi-like fashion, Heath, along with his late, possibly codependent, father John Heath, and Dennis T. O’Brien, 53, funneled money from new investors to pay off early investors. The scam dated to the early 1990s, when Daniel W. Heath & Associates lured clients to “free lunch”seminars where they were told their money would go into fixed income investments with little or no risk. Instead, it went into high-risk real estate and small business projects.
I have long suspected that most such scams have been perpetrated by addicts. Proof is hard to find, but a few in whom alcoholism is proven, including Charles Ponzi and Samuel Israel lll (July 2008 TAR), offer a bit of evidence. Recall from the top story on Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo in the July 2007 TAR that proof of addiction in all but celebrities and professional athletes is hard to come by. In addition, the most well-known tax fraud cases this decade involved two clear-cut addicts (“Survivor’s”Richard Hatch”April 2005 TAR”and actor Wesley Snipes”January 2007 TAR). Victims said that Daniel’s “charm”and self-described “religious values”were instrumental in enticing them into investing. Excessive charm is a well-known attribute of many alcoholics, some of whom feign religious values, including the alcoholic ministers Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.
Along similar lines, businessman Raffaello Follieri, 30, pleaded guilty to multimillion dollar real estate fraud. The “smooth-talking”Italian, who once dated actress Anne Hathaway (“Get Smart”and “The Devil Wears Pradaâ€) and claimed to have friends in high places in the Vatican, lived a life of luxury at the expense of investors whom he convinced would be buying properties from the Roman Catholic Church at prices far below fair market value. Follieri’s lawyer, Flora Edwards, told reporters, “As with many people, he got sidetracked by the need to adopt a lifestyle he couldn’t maintain.”Sure, and we all steal money from investors to maintain that lifestyle.