According to the New York Post, a Colorado conman who escaped from a federal prison in Colorado in 2018 was rearrested in Florida, living in a luxurious $1.5 million mansion. Questions: Source: Reyes, R. (2023) Colorado conman who escaped fed prison caught living lavishly in $1.5M Florida mansion. The New York Post, Aug. 3 (Retrievable… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Ponzi scheme
TD Bank settles Ponzi Scheme case
According to the New York Times, TD Bank agreed to pay $1.2 Billion to settle a Ponzi Scheme Case. Question: Source: Goldstein, M. (2023). TD Bank Agrees to Pay $1.2 Billion to Settle Ponzi Scheme Case. The New York Times, Feb. 27 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/business/stanford-ponzi-scheme-settlement.html).
Another Ponzi Scheme
A recent Department of Justice (DoJ) press release indicates that John Piccarreto, Jr., 38, of Rochester, NY, was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and filing a false tax return in connection with a Ponzi scheme. Questions: What was Mr. Piccarreto’s sentence and the amount of restitution required? How many investors were defrauded? What… Read more »
Next Time Wear a Cold Water Wetsuit
According to CBS, Sacramento, a fleeing Ponzi scheme suspect is now in custody after a daring escape on a submersible scooter from FBI agents. Questions Who is the subject and what is alleged? Where did this take place? How long had the subject been under FBI surveillance? What is the sentence that the subject faces?… Read more »
Resignation of another CEO
Herbalife’s chief executive has resigned over unspecified comments he made before taking leadership of the Los Angeles supplement maker. Questions: 1. What did his previous remarks relate to? 2. Who is CEO Goudis’ replacement and what is the replacement’s background? 3. Why has Herbalife been in the news since 2015? Source: Pazzanghera, J. (2019). Herbalife… Read more »
Enormous Chinese Ponzi Scheme!
A criminal investigation by Chinese officials has found that the online company, Ezubao, once a dynamo of the financial industry, offered mostly fake investment products to its nearly one million investors. This has highlighted the urgent need for tougher supervision of online financing system in the world’s second largest economy. Questions: 1. What interest rate… Read more »
Is Herbalife a Ponzi Scheme?
Herbalife is a company that sells weight loss shakes, vitamins and other similar products worth billions of dollars. The company has been around for more than 30 years. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. So what could be more legitimate? Bill Ackman, who manages a hedge fund thinks the whole thing is… Read more »
Fraud is quicker than the law?
Without regulation of Bitcoin, consumers have no protection in a Bitcoin economy. The virtual currency continues to result in swindles, with little prospect of a crackdown. Questions: 1. What is a pump-and-dump scheme? 2. What event(s) sent Bitcoin’s price tumbling? 3. In the U.S., the SEC has not ruled that Bitcoin is a security. However,… Read more »
Online Gambling Settlement
Poker Stars, the world’s largest poker company and its rival, Full Tilt, agreed to settle federal money laundering and fraud charges by paying hundreds of millions of dollars to reimburse online gamblers. Questions: 1. Who were the founders of these companies and what charges do they face? 2. Through what means did the companies deceive… Read more »
A Ponzi Scheme in Ohio
In September, a prominent member of the Amish community in Sugarcreek, Ohio was arrested and accused by federal prosecutors of running a Ponzi scheme that betrayed his neighbors’ trust and wiped out more than $16 million of their savings. The elderly defendant, Monroe L. Beachy, had been a respected financial figure in his community for… Read more »