November 15 1999

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A new criminal indictment and a $7 million settlement have been announced in the long-running church-fraud case dubbed "Operation Island Scam" by federal investigators.

Steve Harmon, 39, of Mount Vernon, Washington, was indicted on October 1 on eight counts of conspiracy to defraud, selling unregistered securities, and tax evasion. The charges stem from a fraud case involving hundreds of mostly elderly church members who lost millions in a Ponzi scheme run by Steve Harmon's father, Phil Harmon.

Steve Harmon told a local reporter that he will fight the charges, and "I look forward to the opportunity to prove my innocence in a trial."

Phil Harmon, who pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in 1997, is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence. Phil Harmon's son-in-law and business partner, Terry Beebe, is also serving a prison sentence for his part in the scam. Two other Harmon employees have pleaded guilty to fraud or embezzlement.

Steve Harmon's indictment came only ten days after a Seattle federal judge approved the settlement of a class-action suit filed by victims of the Harmon investment fraud. According to the plaintiffs' attorney, Mark Griffin, about 200 of the investors, most of them elderly church members, will recoup up to 70 cents on the dollar.

Of the total, $5.9 million will be paid by SunAmerica Securities of Phoenix, Arizona, and $1.1 million by an insurance company. Steve Harmon was affiliated with SunAmerica, which the class-action suit charged with negligence for failing to detect the fraud.

Phil Harmon is an evangelical Quaker who told his investors he could get them above-market rates of interest on their money through real-estate investments. Many members of a large independent evangelical church in ...