Pastor Fleeced Flock for $2M, Feds Say

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CN) – A pastor with a cable TV show bamboozled people of more than $2 million for a bogus jewelry business, federal prosecutors say. Samuel Solanky, star of his own show, “Vandana,” promised 100 percent returns “within a matter of months,” but bounced checks and wired investors’ money overseas, according to the complaint.     Solanky, 61, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of mail fraud. Some of the victims knew him from his “religious activities,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.