Life
False Profit
By
| The pastor of an Indian cable-TV ministry in upstate New York has been charged with bilking investors of $2 million in a jewelry scam. Samuel (Samee) Solanky, who runs the South Asian Gospel Network, which he founded in 1988 in Maybrook, N.Y., is accused of duping investors, many of whom he met through his ministry, to invest in a phony gem business, promising a 100% return. The ministry broadcasts a TV program called Vandana on several cable outlets in New York, New Jersey and Texas, claims to distribute bibles in various Indian languages and runs charitable programs for children in India. The ministry’s website claims that, “Its main purpose is to communicate the love of God toward human beings and to reveal the ultimate plan for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God.” Solanky allegedly told postal inspectors that he had sent the money he had raised from investors to Nigerian partners, who had promised him exceptional returns. |