Jail Terms Awarded in Arizona Charity Fraud Case

Two executives of the now-defunct Baptist Foundation of Arizona were sentenced to prison terms on Friday, seven years after the foundation went bankrupt and was accused of losing more than $550-million in investments by church members, Reuters reports.

William Crotts, the foundation’s former president, was found guilty in July of fraud and knowingly conducting an illegal enterprise and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Thomas Grabinski, the organization’s former lawyer, was convicted of the same charges and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Both men were ordered to pay $159-million in restitution.

More than 11,000 people, most of them elderly, lost money in the collapse of the foundation.

Although Mr. Crotts and Mr. Grabinski did not appear to profit from the foundation’s collapse, prosecutors said the two men were responsible for hiding the foundation’s losses.