All posts by rlewis

September 3, 1998 Harmon Case Update

More Charges to Come, Prosecutors Say

On September 3, Terrill D. “Terry” Beebe, signed a plea agreement in a Seattle Federal Court, admitting to “Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud and Embezzlement from a Health Care Benefit Program, in violation of Title 18, U Code, Section 371,” according to the prosecutor’s information filed with the case. The charges were part of the ongoing investigation of the Philip Harmon-National Friends Insurance Trust Case, code-named “Operation Island Scam.”

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Bill Kreidler: A Personal Tribute

By Chuck Fager

Dear Friends,

One of the finest, most eloquent ministers of this generation of liberal Quakers has left us. William J. “Bill” Kreidler, of Beacon Hill Meeting in Boston, died on June 10, 2000. This is a time to mourn, and also a time to remember, and to pay tribute, which is what I want to do here

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Fleecing The Faithful – Prelude: Down the Garden Path & Opening Pandora’s Box

The 1989 Friends Ministers Conference was the fourth in a series that were held every five years. The event had started out as the Friends Pastors Conference, but this was changed for the 1984 gathering in a bow to traditional Quaker nomenclature, and to accommodate the sensibilities of the handful of attenders who came from the non-pastoral Quaker groups. (I was one.)

The 1989 gathering was scheduled for Denver. The planning committee’s chairman was Eugene Coffin. Priscilla Deters’ introduction to the committee was succinctly described by an Investigator for the Kansas State Security Commission, Gary Fulton. Writing in 1994, he explained that:

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Quaker Church Fraud Sentencing Update: May 22, 1998

By Chuck Fager

Wichita, KS — Although Priscilla Deters insisted that, “I consider myself innocent of these charges,” adding that “I have a heart of grief, because I have been a victim too,” federal judge Monti Belot insisted on Friday, May 22 that she start serving her eleven-plus year sentence for wire and mail fraud immediately.

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March 13, 1998: Tough Deters Bail Conditions Set;Possible Future Indictments Seen

Update by Chuck Fager

Wichita, KS — On this Friday the 13th, U.S. Judge Monti Belot accepted Priscilla Deters’ plan for remaining free on bail until her sentencing, but imposed tough restrictions on the now convicted felon, and spoke darkly of her likely jail sentence. Belot also predicted that there might be additional prosecutions in the multimillion dollar church fraud case.

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