Fraudulent political leadership can do many things for people most of which you wouldn't wish on a dog.
And if you're 90 years old and are victimized by a squirrelly mortgage scam issuing from the bowels of a deregulated industry, you, or someone you care about, can end up like Mrs. Polk:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4928IS20081003