Investment fraud is always vile, but when the scamsters use religion as their entree to people's pockets, it is especially disgusting.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has just busted up a ring that was operating a classic Ponzi scheme that targeted churches in Riverside County.

"The commission alleges that the defendants raised at least $160 million within the past three years by offering and selling 'joint venture agreements' to evangelistic Christian leaders, members of congregations, and affiliated organizations," according to an SEC press release.

Why did thousands of people fall victim to this fraud? As is usually the case, they bit on the promise of amazingly high returns on their invested dollars. The SEC says the people were told that their money was not at risk, they would get a 25 percent return on their investment within three to six months, and would then receive monthly returns ranging from 5.35 percent to 6.75 percent. In other words, what they were promised was too good to be true.

The reason the people who were charged in this case -- they lived in Lake Elsinore, Rancho Cucamonga, Montclair and Alta Loma -- were able to pull off the scheme was because they used money from new investors to pay off earlier scam victims. In reality, the commission says, they were actually using most of the money to buy homes, a yacht and even a helicopter.

The accused scamsters in this case attracted millions of dollars from church members the old-fashioned way: greed. However, government regulators say billions of dollars are swindled from innocent people each year by preying on their religious beliefs.

"Give and it shall be given unto you" is a passage from the Gospel of Luke that is often used in promoting religious investment fraud.

The SEC says that Great Ministries International used that and other messages from the Bible to convince churchgoers that their investment program was "anointed." More than 90,000 investors handed over a total of $580 million. When the bogus investment ring was busted, the leaders were reported to have said that regulators were trying to discredit and demonize their efforts.

"I've been a securities regulator for 20 years, and I've seen more money stolen in the name of God than in any other way," said Deborah Bortner, former president of the North American Securities Administrators Association.

"Be as skeptical and careful when you invest with someone who shares your faith as you would with anyone else," she said.

When a registered financial adviser makes an unsuitable recommendation or suggests some other type of illegal activity, investors have recourse by filing a complaint with government regulators and agreeing to arbitration.

However, the people who commit religious financial fraud are not registered or licensed, and the odds of recovering any money are slim to none. The best that can be hoped for is that putting these bums in jail may protect others from becoming victims.

Americans are the most generous people in the world. They support their churches and charities with a passion. Unfortunately, there are bad people out there who are willing to take advantage of that generosity.

George Chamberlin, a writer living in Encinitas, is also a TV commentator. Contact him at george@moneyinthemorning.com.