Amish Bankruptcy

     CLEVELAND (AP) - An Ohio man has been charged with defrauding
fellow Amish out of about $17 million by moving their money from
safer securities to riskier investments subject to market
fluctuations.
     The one-count mail fraud indictment was filed late Wednesday
against Monroe Beachy, owner of A&M Investments. Beachy said
Thursday that he was unaware of the indictment and had no comment.
     A&M Investments filed for bankruptcy protection in June, listing
about $33 million in liabilities and nearly $18 million in assets.
Members of Mennonite and Amish communities who lost money recently
asked a bankruptcy judge to let them settle the matter out of
court.
     The indictment says nearly 2,700 people and entities lost about
$16.8 million since 2006. It alleges Beachy routinely mailed false
investor statements.