A Kansas City, MO, preacher and four co-conspirators were convicted last week for running a large-scale investment scam that exploited black churchgoers. Owen Isreal Hawkins, 57, masterminded a fraudulent stock offering that would swindle around 9,000 unqualified investors out of $10.2 million, causing $7.2 million in losses. After being indicted in 2010, he has been… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Indictment
“Unlimited Cash, Inc.” Turned Out to be Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesThree Ventura County, CA, residents were sentenced yesterday in US District Court to federal prison time for operating a Ponzi scheme. Alan Flesher, 65, his brother Wayne, 62, and Nancy Khalial, 65, received respective terms of 17 years, 6 years and 4 years after pleading guilty to fraud charges in June of 2012. The trio… Continue Reading
Accused Scammer Offered Investors Returns at Ludicrous Speed
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesSt. Peters, MO, resident Michael Kitchen has some explaining to do over what authorities say was an investment scam that raised over a half million dollars from at least five investors. The 47-year-old Kitchen was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. Kitchen had already been… Continue Reading
Man’s Commodity Trading Robot Wasn’t Real
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesThe 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
Ex-Football Star Threatened Investors, Says US Attorney
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesRuss Erxleben, a former kicker for the University of Texas and the New Orleans Saints, is scoring news headlines again after his January indictment for a running a $2 million Ponzi scheme. This time an unsettling detail of the case has emerged: according to the US Attorney’s Office in Austin, Erxleben made death threats to… Continue Reading
Huckster Bamboozled Church Congregation out of $1.5 Million
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesAn Orange County, CA, man has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for running a bogus investment scheme in New Jersey. Robert Schroy, 68, had earlier admitted guilt to counts of wire fraud and tax evasion in a plea agreement with the US Attorney’s Office. In another case of affinity fraud, Schroy had scammed… Continue Reading
$250 Million Ponzi Scheme Featured Castle Estate
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesJames Koenig of Redding, CA, was convicted yesterday of operating a $250 million Ponzi scheme that victimized upwards of 2,000 investors, many of them senior citizens. A jury in Shasta County Superior Court found Koenig guilty on all but one of over three dozen criminal counts he faced. Koenig’s partner in the fraud, Gary Armitage… Continue Reading
Man Accused of Dating Women, Ensnaring Them in Showbiz Scam
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesKissimmee, FL, resident Scott Campbell, 48, has gained some unwanted publicity due to allegations that he has been conning women out of their money after meeting them through internet dating services like Match.com. Campbell was exposed yesterday by Orlando news stations after several victims contacted both law enforcement and the media regarding his exploits. He… Continue Reading
Real Estate Fraudster Found Himself ‘in a Pickle’
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesFolsom, CA, resident David Romo was sentenced on May 3rd to 10 years in prison for running a complex real estate scam. The 42-year-old Romo, originally indicted by a federal grand jury in 2011, had managed to bilk several investors out of $6.9 million through a series of fraudulent property development projects. While initially declaring… Continue Reading
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
Party’s Over for Wilton Manors Ponzi Promoter
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesWilton Manors, FL, resident Jim Ellis, the middle-man in a Ponzi scheme that raised $11 million from 40 investors, has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison after making a plea agreement with the US Attorney’s Office in February. The 69-year-old Ellis had acted as the promoter in an investment fraud engineered… Continue Reading
Alleged Ponzi Team Now Accused of Stalking
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesAn Anchorage duo under federal indictment for running a Ponzi scheme has also been accused of stalking a state employee. Floyd Leroy Lee, 32, and Mary Transki, 26, are charged by the US Attorney’s Office with defrauding 10 victims out of $62,000 through their company Platinum Investments. Now new allegations of criminal wrongdoing by the… 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
Ponzi Schemers Pulled Off Comic Book Caper
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesIn a case worthy of corny 1960’s superhero canon, three Chicago-area men have been sentenced in US District Court for running a Ponzi scheme centered on comic books. Daniel Parrilli, 62, John Lauer, 48, and Christopher Andersen, 57, are all headed back to club fed for respective 70-month, 31-month, and 95-month prison sentences. All three… Continue Reading
Accused Sunset Ponzi Schemer Flaunted Glitzy Returns
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesLos Angeles resident Shervin Neman was placed under arrest by FBI agents last week after being indicted by a federal grand jury for operating a Ponzi scheme. The 31-year-old Neman (given name Davatgarzadeh) faces two single counts of mail and wire fraud as well as one count of causing a criminal act. He is accused… Continue Reading
Ponzi Clawbacks Mentioned as Best New Blog
Posted in Bankruptcy Clawback NewsHackard Law is proud to note that Kevin O’Keefe over at LexBlog has shared some kind words about us in one of his recent roundups: If you’re looking for the best new blogger to join the LexBlog Network in the past year, Michael Hackard may be it as his first blog, Ponzi Clawbacks, has been outstanding… Continue Reading
Fake Pastor Sentenced for Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi AnalysisAfter making a plea deal admitting to the sale of unregistered securities in March, Allen County, IN, resident Bradley Collins was sentenced last week to two years of work release and six of probation for promoting a $46.5 million Ponzi scheme. The 56-year-old Collins had originally been indicted in October of 2012 on additional charges… Continue Reading
Man Played Up Patriotism in Investment Scam – SEC
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesThe SEC has filed a complaint against Daniel Peterson of Spokane Valley, WA, for what it says has been a fraudulent investment program. Peterson, 63, is accused of raising $400,000 through stock offerings that were based on false claims. In particular, the agency points to Peterson’s use of the JOBS Act (Jumpstart Our Business Startups),… Continue Reading
Ponzi Schemer Made Not-So-Great Escape
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesMichael Joseph Krzyzaniak of Minneapolis, MN, is back behind bars after a brief escape from a federal prison camp. The 64-year-old Krzyzaniak, convicted last year of mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion in relation to a $20 million real estate development Ponzi scheme, must have gotten antsy. With nine years left of his sentence… Continue Reading
“Platinum Investments” a Tin Foil Scam, Prosecutors Allege
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesThe US Attorney’s Office in Anchorage, AK, has charged two local residents with orchestrating an investment fraud scheme. Floyd Leroy Lee Jr. and colleague Mary Transki have been indicted by a federal grand jury for swindling at least 10 investors out of $62,000. Lee, 32, faces two single counts of securities and mail fraud while… Continue Reading
Man Cooked Up $6 Million Kitchenware Scam
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesDothan, AL, resident Edward Lincoln Forehand was convicted on fourteen counts of fraud and money laundering last week in connection with a $6 million Ponzi scheme. The 68-year-old Forehand enticed 204 victims into a high-yield investment program centered on the resale of cookware. He was originally indicted on the charges by a federal grand jury… Continue Reading
American Ponzi: The Blur Between Fantasy and Reality
Posted in Ponzi Analysis, Ponzi ProfilesWhile a work of fiction, the following report is a composite narrative based on actual events taken from real-life Ponzi schemes. Links are to stories Hackard Law has previously covered. California hedge fund wizard and snow-cone king Gonzo Wiggler, 50, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud and… Continue Reading
“Phantom Holdings” Disappeared with Investor Funds, Say Prosecutors
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesIn 2008 Michael Wilson, just 21 at the time and sporting a stetson cowboy hat, made himself the toast of Buffalo when he closed on two of the city’s most expensive residential properties for $6.3 million. Yet Wilson’s spending spree was fueled by a scam that looted $3.3 million in investor funds, says the US… Continue Reading
Champions of Little Guy Indicted for Ponzi Scheme
Posted in Ponzi ProfilesFollowing a 2011 CFTC civil suit, three Omaha men have been indicted for operating a Ponzi scheme. Jonathan Arrington, 44; Michael Kratville, 52; and Michael Welke, 38, are alleged to have defrauded 130 investors out of $4.7 million. Each of the accused face fourteen counts of conspiracy and fraud after managing what they claimed to… Continue Reading