The Virginian-Pilot By Matthew Jones and Meghan Hoyer Invest in real estate. Make money. Improve neighborhoods. That was the pitch, and it usually started with a ride. Cary McEntee would be at the wheel, steering his black Cadillac Escalade through […]

Another fraud busted by Barry Minkow, this one a pyramid scheme called MX Factors. The head of MX Factors was charged with federal crimes initially uncovered by Minkow and his Fraud Discovery Institute. Current target of an informal SEC investigation, […]

From The BizOp News blog by Michael Webster, Tri Energy: Massive Affinity Fraud And Ponzi Scheme. A U.S. District Judge in California ruled against Tri Energy Inc., H&J Energy Company Inc., and several others last week. The defendants are permanently […]

Pinnacle Development Partners LLC has been charged with running a Ponzi scheme that took $69 million from over 2,000 investors. The top man, Gene O’Neal was charged with 19 counts of federal mail and wire fraud. In 2006, Pinnacle advertised […]

Ponzi demonstrated to himself that he could achieve astronomical profits with the postal reply coupons, a far better return on investment than interest paid by the banks or profits created in the stock market. His investment pitch included the mention […]

Charles Ponzi could be described as a clever businessman, or a ruthless cheater, depending upon how you look at him. I view him primarily as a charismatic leader who was able to convince people to give him large sums of […]

James Lewis Jr., the operator of one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history was sentenced to 30 years in prison last week. That was the maximum sentence that could be imposed. He was also ordered to pay $156 […]

Leslie John Hamilton was sentenced to 30 years in prison for masterminding a pyramid scheme that he claimed was an investment in rare coins. The scheme involved over 300 victims, who lost more than $10 million. Hamilton was convicted by […]