Recent news of the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by investment advisor Bernard L. Madoff has done nothing to ease the fears of investors who have been annihilated by the stock market over the last couple of months.How does an investment opportunity go from being a legitimate investment vehicle …
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, Usana Health Sciences, hopes that Minkow has no credibility. It …
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 enjoined from committing violations of Securities and Exchange Commissions rules. …
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 of the International Reply Coupons, as he was depending upon …
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 money, even when they did not understand his investment scheme. …
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 million in restitution. The sentence comes after a guilty plea …
