All of these men were completely different people in their roles at church and work. Each justified their dishonesty as just being part of the risk of investing. Interestingly enough most of them came out of the deals just fine while their investors, like me, took the big hit.

I've also seen a common pattern where they are leading the deal, but they don't have any of their own dough in it. It's a classic OPM situation. I've made it a point to never invest in someone else's projects unless they are personally invested in a major way with their own money. They typically work harder to save or make a profit for their own money than they ever would if it was just investor money.

Same goes for investing in businesses. Makes me sick when I see business owners who are funded 100% with VC money blowing it on stuff like company cars and first class travel and hotels. They way they spend an investors money says a lot about their ability as a business leader.

Scoundrels all of them.