Evangelist Ordered to Repay Heiress
SANTA ANA — An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that an evangelical preacher had conned an heiress out of nearly $500,000 and ordered him to repay the money plus $250,000 in punitive damages.
Mel Tari, 48, of Dana Point, an evangelist and author, must repay Christine Kline, 41, of Denver for the small fortune that she signed over to him.
Kline, who had inherited Capital Printing Co. stock from her grandmother, led a different life before she became a Christian, once touring for several years with the Rolling Stones, according to her lawyer, Paul Roper of Orange.
She then became a trusted friend of Tari, who also is an executive vice president of All Seasons Resorts, a Costa-Mesa based company that owns resort campgrounds in several states.
Judge Byron K. McMillan found that Tari conned Kline out of $475,000 by offering to put her inheritance in a trust that he promised to manage. Instead, Tari invested the money in All Seasons Resorts, the judge found.
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