Did anyone read this comment contribution on that page?
"The Pigeon King was a classic Ponzi scheme in which early investors where paid with funds supplied by later investors. The owner kept it going for a number of years by buying pigeons from his original investors and shipping them to new producers. Since people were paid on their contracts for several years, some farmers where convinced that the scheme must be sound, but no one could even figure out what the final market was for the birds. The breed being produced wasn't even a "meat" breed.
"Better Farming" magazine ran an expose of the Pigeon King" last year. The guy was particularly good a conning Amish and Mennonite communities. He started by convincing a few Amish or Mennonite communities, disparate to keep their young people on the farm, to try his scheme. He kept these people well payed and then could direct other interested communities to his "satisfied" customers, who become the perfect stooges to promote his business. Concerned elders had tried to block his attempts but it was hard to argue with what looked like success - particularly when more traditional farming seemed to be failing. Keep in mind that agricultural advisers are constantly telling farmers that we need to look for niche or specialty markets to keep our business's going. Pigeon King hit all the right buttons.
This guy has wrecked the lives of a lot of hard working farmers, but as a white collar criminal he probably won't see much jail time."
