So he used his Mormanity to fleece fellow members... what else is new. This is a recurring pattern as so many of his fellow LDS are greedy and think they are entitled to 'too good to be true' financial deals.
Hope he never gets out and those he fleeced don't go right into another similar swindle with the next 'brother' conman who walks through their stake house doors.

My introduction to pyramid schemes was at BYU in early 70s. Two students invited me to an investment opportunity meeting in SLC. The main speaker, they said, was a former bishop in Spanish Fork and the company president was a stake president in Sacramento. At the meeting I saw lots of other BYU students. I almost signed up but I got timely advice about such schemes. I learned about church members who ended up with basements full of soap products. Another time, not in Utah, a former neighbor came by with a "friend" to invite us to join a club they joined in Utah. I had already heard about it because it was the target of criminal investigation. His response was that Joseph Smith was persecuted also. A few years later, another neighbor joined the church, and within a few months he was caught up in the anti-tax movement, apparently with other church members. When he tried to share his views with me, I told him it was illegal and contrary to the teachings of the church. He got offended and went away and soon after moved to southern Utah.

I believe that there is a need for Church leaders to stress honestry and intergrity more. These topics are covered at times, but the amount of emphasis is far less than that given to other topics. Which is the more serious sin, drinking some coffee or defrauding one's neighbor? Sadly, I have known many LDS people whose business practices are shady at best. Yet, these same people often serve in leadership capacities while the honest, humble janitors and the like in the congregation are not considered capable of holding such positions. This is not always the case, but unfortunately it is all too often. Wealth does not equal righteousness, and poverty does not equal disfavor with God. I wish we understood this better.

never do business with fellow members of the church. it can cause pain and heartache if things fail.