Amish farmer Emery Miller has spent the past four years scrambling to help his friends recover from the biggest investment scam to hit his community, a multimillion-dollar fleecing of widows, struggling families and the elderly.
He has written to scores of Amish and Mennonite churches and community groups across the Midwest and asked for help, hoping to offset the losses inflicted by investment adviser Monroe Beachy. All told, Beachy swindled $16.8 million, most of which came from Amish investors.
The one place Miller refuses to go for money is a courthouse.
Since Beachy was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison in 2012, not one of the hundreds of Amish families who lost their money has filed a lawsuit against him. The reason is simple: The Amish, citing their deep religious beliefs, refuse to file civil cases against others, no matter how badly they have been burned.
And that raises a key issue in a contentious society: How can the Amish, with their beliefs, avoid being duped?
"Why don't we sue? Because we just don't, Miller said. "That's how we live and what we abide by.
As society becomes more litigious, the Amish remain invested in their traditions. Ohio has the largest Amish population in the country, with more than 67,000 people. Their beliefs are tested daily, and the temptation to sue has never been greater.
Distracted drivers have plowed into buggies, injuring parents and maiming their young. Oil and gas companies have reached questionable deals with Amish farmers over leases. Some businesses have tried to bamboozle them in everyday dealings that range from the sale of heifers to small-scale construction projects.
Miller and others victimized in Beachy's scam say they believe filing a lawsuit is too aggressive. They also admit that their views have made them vulnerable to being ripped off in business dealings, as many businesses realize that they can take advantage of the Amish without facing repercussions, according to court records and interviews.
"It is highly unusual for the Amish to bring a suit, said Charles Kennedy, an attorney in Wooster who has counseled Amish. "They just don't believe in it. They will defend themselves (if they are sued), but they don't sue.
Donald Kraybill has studied the Amish for years as a professor at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.
"To many Amish, (a lawsuit) is forbidden, Kraybill said. "It's viewed as the way the government or the world solves problems, not how the Amish solve problems.
In the past five years, Ohio residents or their attorneys filed 2.7 million lawsuits in county courthouses, according to state records. In Cuyahoga County, residents filed 153,061.
The Amish don't want to be a part of that.
"We're vulnerable. We understand that,'' said a young dairy farmer who asked not to be identified. He stressed that the Amish have worked to become savvier. They often consult with attorneys before making major business decisions. But they remain trusting.
Miller, for instance, agreed to sell two heifers to a farmer he met at an auction several years ago. He gave the man the cows on the promise that he would be paid later. The farmer never paid Miller, despite his attempts to collect.
Miller refused to take the issue further, even after he had been hospitalized and needed to pay medical bills.
"I would rather be short on the money than be him,'' Miller said.
He realizes that not all cases are as simple. His dealings with Beachy are a testament to that.
From 1990 to 2010, Beachy, 81, operated A&M Investments in Sugarcreek, a small community in Tuscarawas County in the heart of Amish country, about two hours south of Cleveland. One of the portfolios he handled was for the Amish Helping Fund, established to assist members of the community pay for land, buildings and other expenses. The fund invested hundreds of thousands of dollars with Beachy.
Records show Beachy lied to his 2,700 investors about where he placed their money. Instead of low-risk U.S. bonds and securities, he placed their investments in junk bonds and high-risk investments that fluctuated greatly, records show. Investors, many of whom were Amish, gave Beachy $33 million. By the time he filed for bankruptcy in 2010, Beachy lost $16.8 million of it.
Miller leads a committee that has spent years seeking to help the people Beachy hit the hardest. He said the committee has scraped together tens of thousands of dollars from churches and community groups to help those who lost life savings. He said he lost about $5,000 in the scheme.
"I regret that this happened, he said. "But I hold nothing against Monroe. I have forgiven him.
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