The operators of an unregistered commodity pool have been ordered to cough up millions in penalties for running what regulators say was a $28.4 million Ponzi scheme that swindled 2,000 victims. US District Court Judge Daniel Hurley ruled in a CFTC suit that Philip Milton of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, must pay $10.8 million in… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: commodity pool
Man Operated Ponzi Scheme out of Trump Tower
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesChicago resident Christopher Varlesi, 53, was sentenced last week in US District Court to 5 years in federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme. Varlesi, who admitted guilt in a plea agreement with prosecutors in December 2012, managed to raise approximately $1.5 million from 18 investors, many of them family and friends, ostensibly for use… Continue Reading
Man Indicted in Forex Ponzi Promised “Outrageous” Fortune
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesGraham, NC, resident James H. Mason has come under federal indictment for masterminding what the US Attorney says was a $4.7 million Ponzi scheme. Mason, 66, allegedly defrauded 500 investors through a phony foreign currency trading operation he represented as an astounding success approaching the glory of the 1972 Miami Dolphins. From 2010 to 2013… Continue Reading
How High Was Ponzi Schemer?
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesIn certain cases of fraud one cannot but suspect the influence of narcotics, giving new meaning to high-yield investment programs. When a con-man formulates outrageous rates of return that would have the late, great Charles Ponzi rolling in his grave from laughter, we can only ask the question, “How high was this guy?” Such has… Continue Reading
Accused Commodities Scammers Were Just Looking Out for Little Guy
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesThe promoter and trader of an unregistered commodities pool in Nebraska has been ordered by a federal judge to hand over $387,000 in funds. Michael Welke of Omaha must comply with the injunction after the CFTC implicated him in an alleged Ponzi scheme that defrauded 130 investors out of $4.7 million. Along with Welke, his… Continue Reading
Mormon Bishop Scammed “Friends” in Home Improvement Project
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesJulius Blackwelder, formerly a Mormon bishop in Bridgeport, CT, has pleaded guilty to two single charges of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a Ponzi scheme. From 2005 to 2012, the 59-year-old Blackwelder is said by the US Attorney’s Office to have defrauded six investors out of $400,000. In a classic case of… Continue Reading
Commodity Pool was $5.4 Million Ponzi Scheme, CFTC Charges
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesConnecticut resident Feisal Sharif, 42, faces federal prosecution and CFTC civil action for an alleged commodity pool fraud he ran from 2007 to 2012. Sharif is accused of bilking around 80 investors out of $5.4 million for what he said was trading in futures through his company First Financial. The business, which Sharif ran out… Continue Reading
Fraudster Exploited Deaf Community in Commodities Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesCalifornia resident Marc Perlman has been ordered by a federal judge in the Southern District of New York to pay a hefty penalty and restitution to victims for operating a commodity pool Ponzi scheme. Through his company iGlobal Strategic Management, Perlman solicited investments for trading leveraged off-exchange foreign currency contracts. From 2009 to 2011, under the… Continue Reading