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Just weeks before a Mormon entrepreneur is expected to plead guilty in a scam that defrauded about 800 people of $180 million, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is warning its members to steer clear of financial scams.

In a letter by the church's First Presidency read to its congregations Sunday, the church said it is "concerned that there are those who use relationships of trust to promote risky or even fraudulent investment and business schemes." It is unclear if the letter targeted Utah congregations or its entire worldwide membership.

The church declined to answer questions on the letter and whether the case involving Ogden businessman Val E. Southwick and other recent cases like it triggered it. A spokesman would only say that "the principles of personal discipline in financial management and of avoiding debt have been taught by church leaders from the earliest days of the church."

But what sets this letter apart from earlier messages is that it specifically addresses fraud and urges members to invest "wisely with responsible and established financial institutions."

Southwick is accused of defrauding 800 people from Utah, 29 other states and three foreign countries of as much as $180 million. A number of victims in Utah and Nevada were members of the LDS Church. And Southwick, through companies such as Vescor Capital Inc., flaunted his Mormon status to help persuade people to invest with him in what may end up being the biggest case of fraud in Utah history.

"Unfortunately, church members were easy targets when a few unlicensed and unregulated church members (and in some cases bishops) were paid high commissions to promote the Vescor investment scheme - which targeted, in many cases, senior citizens in their retirement years," Craig P. Orrock, a Mormon attorney representing several of Southwick's victims, said Thursday in an e-mail.

In another case, a Utah County man was charged for allegedly fleecing 140 real-estate investors out of $11 million. Like the Southwick case, the one involving Paul Bouchard and other related ones involved a number of LDS victims and is likely to result in additional prosecutions and more publicly disclosed multimillion dollar losses.

Commerce Department Director Francine Giani said she is glad to see Mormon leaders speak out against affinity fraud, in which scam artists try to use their standing in churches, professional organizations and other groups to persuade others to invest with them.

"Affinity fraud is alive and well in the state of Utah," said Giani, a member of the LDS faith. "I salute the church and I hope people who are not members read it as well."

In the letter, the First Presidency, composed of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B. Eyring and Dieter Uchtdorf, reiterates the need to check the background of any prospective financial adviser. "While all investments carry an element of risk, that risk can be managed by following sound and proven financial principles; first, avoid unnecessary debt, especially consumer debt; second, before investing, seek advice from a qualified and licensed financial adviser and third, be wise."

Salt Lake City business attorney and LDS Church member Stuart Hinckley, co-founder of an LDS-oriented Web site designed to promote ethics in business, said he, too, supports the church's efforts to urge members to investigate anyone before committing their money. Many cases of affinity fraud could be avoided, he said.

The church, Hinckley said, is saying "research and verify and get an objective view about what it's about rather than just trusting someone based on a relationship," he said. "This is good advice for anyone."

LDS Church member Curt Bench, a Salt Lake City bookstore owner, made a $1,500 investment in the late 1970s in diamonds.

The husband of one of his employees at the time was promoting the investment. Part of the appeal, he said, was they were active members of the LDS Church. In addition, Bench figured an employee was unlikely to scam his manager.

"I went through a horrible experience trying to collect," he said, noting he recovered only half.

But probably one of the best examples of church-oriented affinity fraud involved the high-profile case of Mark Hofmann's Mormon document forgeries. Bench himself was friends with Hofmann and did business with him.

"If he hadn't been assumed to be a good church member, then I don't think he would have had the same access to church officials or many people as he did business with," Bench said.

Today, when Bench hears people talk about their church membership or position in the church in relation to a business venture, "it's automatically a red flag," he said.

"This is not a problem exclusive to the LDS community, and it's not the church's fault," he said. "People trust each other, and they especially trust members of their own faith; it's natural."