Reglious Prey: Baptist Foundation of Arizona

The Baptist Foundation of Arizona is headquartered in Phoenix, with offices in churches across the state. (Source: Kurtis Productions)

Bill Crotts, the man at the helm of the Baptist Foundation, was revered throughout the Arizona Southern Baptist community for his financial wizardry. After the foundation's collapse in November 1999, Crotts is indicted on charges of theft and fraud, among others. He is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence. (Source: Mike Piccarreta)

Bill Anderson and his wife, Pat, invest nearly $200,000 in the Baptist Foundation of Arizona. When the foundation files for bankruptcy in November 1999, the Andersons lose it all. (Source: Bill and Pat Anderson)

To stay afloat, Bill Anderson rejoins the work force, working as a handyman while crafting and selling Uncle Sam lawn ornaments to pay the bills. (Source: Kurtis Productions)

Bob Shaw invests nearly $250,000 in the Baptist Foundation - including money originally set aside for his daughter's college tuition. After BFA's collapse, Shaw is forced to sell his house and takes jobs like washing cars for extra cash. (Source: Kurtis Productions)

The Baptist Foundation of Arizona's mantra - "Do good while doing good" - compels more than 11,000 people nationwide to invest millions of dollars. Most investors are devout, elderly Arizonans. (Source: Public domain)

In April 1996, BFA employee Kyle Tresch resigns after his bosses refuse to acknowledge the foundation's fraudulent finances. The insider later becomes a lead witness in the state's case against his former colleagues. (Source: Kurtis Productions)

Attorney Kyle Tresch signs on with the Baptist Foundation of Arizona in 1994 but resigns 17 months later after his bosses refuse to publicly acknowledge the murky relationship between the BFA and its subsidiary, A.L.O., Inc. (Source: Terry Greene Sterling)

Following a tip from a confidential source, investigative reporter Terry Greene Sterling spends six months pouring through public documents. Her series of articles-which suggest that the Baptist Foundation may be cooking the books - intensifies an investigation by the state's Attorney General's Office and puts investors on high alert. (Source: Kurtis Productions)

"The Devil?"In a letter to board members, President Bill Crotts, of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, compares reporter Terry Greene Sterling to the devil. Dated January 21, 1998, the letter is written just months before Sterling publishes a series of scathing articles on the foundation. (Source: Public Domain/fair use)

In response to a series of scathing articles published in the Phoenix New Times newspaper, Baptist Foundation of Arizona President Bill Crotts sends a letter to the foundation's investors calling the articles "vague and full of innuendos." (Source: Public Domain/fair use)

Year after year, Arthur Anderson audits the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, giving the non-profit group its stamp of approval and a clean bill of financial health. Yet, in 2002, years after the BFA's 1999 financial collapse, Arthur Andersen agrees to pay out a $217 million settlement to BFA investors. (Source: Public Domain)

Though Bill Crotts, president of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, ran an elaborate fraud that lost investors millions, the State believes pride, not greed, drove Crotts to corruption. (Source: Jason Millstein/Illume Photography)

Thomas Grabinski, in-house counsel for the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, receives a six-year prison term after a jury finds him guilty on counts of fraud and illegally conducting an enterprise. But Grabinski and cohort Bill Crotts evade a conviction on 23 counts of theft. (Source: Jason Millstein/Illume Photography)

Baptist Foundation of Arizona President William Crotts and his right-hand man, Thomas Grabinski, each receive prison terms for their role in defrauding the foundation's nearly 11,000 investors of almost 600 million dollars. (Source: Arizona Department of Corrections)