Mary Was A Virgin (The Rest Is Easy After That)

Maybe because they're willing to buy into bullshit stories to begin with?

Convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff bilked billions of dollars out of thousands of fellow Jews, including charities like the Elie Wiesel Foundation and Steven Spielberg Wunderkinder Foundation.

Other major frauds exposed by federal investigators in recent years have targeted Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, black churches and other denominations, from $190 million lost in a three-year scam promoted by a Christian radio host in Minnesota to an estimated $1.4 billion conned from thousands of Utah Mormons.

Now three Pakistani immigrants -- two believed to have fled the U.S. -- are accused of swindling $30 million from hundreds of Chicago-area Muslims with an investment plan they promised complied with Islamic law.

Is it simply too easy for con artists to prey on people of faith?

"We've seen where it's an outsider who has come into the fold, and we've seen some where it's a person who has been a member of the community for decades," said Lori Schock, director of investment education and advocacy for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We've had cases where people quote Scripture, that the Lord wants you to make money. And when the house of cards comes crashing down, the victims sometimes lose more than just their money -- sometimes they lose their faith, and it's extremely sad."

Why do religious groups make such easy targets?

Don't look at us - it must be another one of life's little mysteries.

Or, you know, "God's love". LOL.