Judge has ruled that the owners of a non-profit Christian investment company committed fraud and called for them to repay $11 million to investors

Judge has ruled that the owners of a non-profit Christian investment company committed fraud and called for them to repay $11 million to investors they swindled in Arizona and 11 other states.The administrative-law judge also said that Chandler residents Ed Purvis and Gregg Wolfe should pay $250,000 in fines for their part in operating Nakami Chi Group Ministries.The judge's ruling must be ratified by the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates securities and oversees corporations in the state. The commission is scheduled to vote on the Nakami case before the end of the year.
The ruling crowns a three-year investigation by the Corporation Commission into Valley-based Nakami, which investigators say targeted churchgoers as part of a Ponzi scheme, including at least one pastor, church elders and members of Chandler Christian Church and Vineyard Church in Avondale.None of the principals could be reached for comment Friday. Purvis has denied any wrongdoing.Wolfe last year agreed to turn state's evidence and admitted to investigators that he and Purvis for years funneled millions of dollars in investors' money into offshore accounts as part of the scheme.Tony Senarighi of Prescott, a one-time investor who testified against the pair, said he was pleased with the ruling. "They are crooks," said Senarighi, who invested $50,000 with Purvis and later got it back from him. "They took other people's money. ... There was a lot of deception here."The civil ruling could lead to a criminal-fraud investigation into a case that has already involved accusations of fraud, bribery of a police officer, harassment of public officials and a series of bizarre legal filings against lawyers, a judge, investigators and a reporter.A Ponzi, or pyramid, scheme is an investment scam that uses money from new investors to pay old investors. Authorities said that, while he promised investors 24 percent annual returns, Purvis was dipping into their money to buy cars and jewelry, make a down payment on an $800,000 home, and pay gambling debts and other personal expenses.
Evidence led the judge, Marc Stern, to set the restitution order at $11 million, but the Corporation Commission could vote to lower or raise the amount.The judge said there was ample evidence to show that Purvis and Wolfe's wives knowingly benefited and ordered Maureen Purvis and Allison Wolfe to share in the fines and restitution. Ed Purvis is serving an 18-month prison sentence at Safford after being convicted in May of bribing a Chandler police officer and on four counts of harassing public officials in an attempt to thwart the Corporation Commission's investigation.
Purvis and Wolfe filed so-called admiralty claims against two attorneys investigating the fraud allegations, a judge in the case and the clerk of Maricopa County Superior Court. They also filed liens and lawsuits against a financial adviser who alerted authorities to their scheme and an reporter.Admiralty law concerns ships and commerce on navigable waters, but groups with roots in militia movements have used it to suggest that it supersedes the Constitution.
Purvis and Wolfe told investors that their company was worth $170 billion and controlled assets around the world, including gold mines, Australian developments, telecom firms, banks and a Phoenix technology company. A Republic investigation in 2006 raised questions about the size and holdings of Nakami, which used a Scottsdale post-office box as its company business address.
State records showed Purvis was a licensed practical nurse and Wolfe is a former roofing contractor. Records also show Purvis and Wolfe do not have brokers', lenders' or banking licenses.