ABSTRACT
The nature of fraud can be unclear, and when belief and trust are involved, it can become very ambiguous indeed. There are cases of demonstrable and verifiable fraud, yet there are also cases where motivations are not clear and an intention to defraud cannot be established. Religious beliefs do not need to be established to be able to provide a frame for fraud. Any social institutions and networks can be used and abused for fraud. Part of the ambiguity of many cases of fraud within minority religion is due to the difficulty in locating exactly who is to blame. In some cases, one may speak of institutionalized fraud; the deception is enabled by existing structures that allow for it. Power and authority, in conjunction with faith and trust, form the elements of opportunity structures for fraud. Most of the cases and examples above did go to court, fraud was established, and perpetrators charged and convicted.
