In 1936 Archbishop Beckman was introduced to the idea of investing borrowed money in gold mines by Phillip Suetter of California. He perhaps thought that he could gain funds to further his art collection. Instead Beckman had involved the archdiocese in what turned out to be a dubious gold mine scheme. Beckman signed promissory notes on behalf of the archdiocese, which caused financial problems for the archdiocese when the scheme fell apart and Suetter was arrested. President Franklin Roosevelt directed the FBI to investigate Beckman to determine the extent of his involvement in this financial scheme, not because of Beckman's opposition to the president as some believed. Soon the holders of the notes began demanding repayment. Most of Beckman's collection was sold to pay off the notes. The cost to the archdiocese was over half a million dollars.