By Kathy Bazoian Phelps
Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for September 2025. There were at least 10 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month, 1 guilty pleas, and over 24 years of sentences. The average age of the fraudsters was about 53 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed.
Vladimir Artamonov, 46, of Maryland, was charged in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme that targeted his Harvard Business School classmates. Artamonov raised more than $4 million from investors for an investment opportunity in “Project Information Arbitrage,” promising to invest in an arbitrage strategy focused on investments by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Instead, he invested in risky short-term options. He represented that his “air tight” insight could generate 500% returns or more with little risk.
Ross Baldwin and his Florida firm National Coin Broker consented to an order requiring $6.9 million in restitution payments. Robert Jeffrey Johnson, Kathleen Hook, Precious Commodities Inc., and NCB Wholesale Co. previously had default judgments entered against them. Baldwin obtained fraudulent insurance policies and claimed to be managing a storage facility even though no such facility existed. At least 60 investors sent cash and silver and were promised 3.9% to 5% returns for allowing their silver to be “leased” to fulfill large orders pursuant to the Silver Lease Program.
Jerald Benjamin Clawson, 74, of Florida, was arrested on allegations that he ran an alleged real estate investment Ponzi scheme. He posed as an investment broker through Azure Waterfront Consulting, LLC and Azure Waterfront (Real Estate), LLC and promised 100-300% returns on short-terms real estate hard money and bridge loans. The scheme involved $5.3 million and at least 10 victims.
Vincent Dispoto Jr., 68, of New Jersey, appealed his 12.5-year prison sentence. Dispoto defrauded more than 60 victims out of $6 million. He ran the scheme through Giddeon Financial Services, a purported investment services firm.
Michael J. French, 42, of South Carolina, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and ordered to pay $14 million in restitution in connection with a Ponzi scheme that he ran through MFJ Holdings, LLC and MJF Capital LLC. French used investor funds to buy luxury items and to give large sums of money to female TikTok creators. He promised investors 12% guaranteed returns from supposed loans he was making to small businesses.
Paul Gulbronson, of Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 6½ years in prison in an investment scheme run through Citrona Homes. Prosecutors alleged that Gulbronson and his wife, Kelly Bonilla, defrauded more than 70 investors in a Ponzi-type scheme that promised returns from the purchase, fixing up and renting of homes. Investors lost approximately $5 million.
Daryl F. Heller, 55, of Pennsylvania, was charged with securities and wire fraud in connection with an alleged $402 million Ponzi scheme involving ATM machines. Authorities allege that the scheme involved $770 million and approximately 2,700 victims. The SEC also filed civil charges, describing the scheme as “Ponzi-like.” Heller used his companies, Prestige Investment Group LLC, Paramount Management, Prestige ATM Funds, WF Velocity ATM Funds, and Heller Capital Group to run the scheme. He reported $34 million in revenue from 25,000 ATMs, but in fact there were just over 10,000 ATMs earning $8.1 million in revenue.
Taino Adrian Lopez, 48, and Alexander Mehr were accused by the SEC of running a Ponzi scheme through Retail Ecommerce Ventures and raising approximately $112 million through fraudulent means. They have purchased well-known brands out of bankruptcy, including RadioShack, Pier 1, Dressbarn, Stein Mart, and Linens ‘N Things, to convert them into online-only operations. However, they are now accused of defrauding investors by mispresenting that the portfolio companies were “on fire” and that “cash flow is strong.” However, none of the brands generated any profits and in order to pay promised returns, they engaged in Ponzi-like behavior. Mehr and Lopez are accused of using $16 million of the investments for themselves. Chief operating officer, Maya Burkenroad, who is also Lopez’s cousin, was also named in the action.
Vladimir Okhotnikov aka Lado, 48, was charged for his role in the alleged $340 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme run through Forsage. He founded Forsage with four other Russian nationals, and the SEC charged him and 10 others in connection with the alleged digital asset fraud.
Ramil Ventura Palafox, 60, pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme run through Praetorian Group International (PGI). Palafox promised daily returns of .5% to 3% from bitcoin trading but was not actually trading bitcoin at a scale capable of making the promised returns. The scheme defrauded at least 90,000 investors worldwide who invested more than $201 million comprised of $30 million of cash and more than 8,100 BTC valued at $171 million at the time. Estimated losses for investors were $62.7 million. Palafox spent over $10 million on luxury vehicles, suites at a luxury hotel, four homes and other luxury items.
Arsalan Rawjani, 40, of Texas, and his investment firm, Trade with Ayasa LLC, were charged by the SEC on allegations that they were running a $18 million Ponzi scheme. He promised returns of 3% to 5% per month from options trading. The SEC alleges that only about $1 million of the $18 million investment was ever actually traded and that Rawjani withdrew about $4.5 million for him and his family.
Henry Paul Regan, 48, of New York, was charged in connection with an alleged fraudulent scheme run through Next Level Holdings LLC, Yield Wealth Ltd. and Yield Capital Management. He claimed investments in securities were insured. Over 330 investors were defrauded out of approximately $50 million. He promised returns of 10.5%
Scott Reid and his companies, Heritage Properties, Sherwood Forest Square, Ltd., SF Square GP Corp., and RHH Rental Properties Ltd., filed for bankruptcy following accusations that they ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of $70 million. Investors allege that Reid transferred about $23 million to Demeter Investment Holdings.
Marco Giovanni Santarelli, 56, of California, was charged in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme run through Norada Capital Management. He allegedly solicited more than 500 investors to invest $62.5 million in a scam involving real estate, Broadway shows, and cryptocurrency.
Jeffrey Spotts, 58, of New Jersey, was arraigned on charges that he ran a $294 million Ponzi scheme through Prophecy Asset Management LP. John Hughes, 58, previously pleaded guilty to charges relating to the scheme. They represented that Prophecy used a “first-loss” trading strategy in which they used multiple traders, called sub-advisors, who would provide cash collateral and backstop any potential losses. In reality, they only used one sub-advisor who lost $290 million. The SEC also filed its own civil action.
Kenny Dirk Van Der Spek, 36, a Belgian man residing in Utah, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $4.1 million of restitution following his guilty plea in connection with a $5 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded 75 investors. Van Der Spek ran the scheme through K & K Strategies, LLC which he marketed as a hedge fund. He sent investors fabricated financial records and displayed a “live stream” of trades on the K &K Strategies website. He targeted small investors and accepted investments as low as $500.
Clarence Woods Jr., 62, of Maryland, pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi-style investment scheme while he was working as a financial services provider. He defrauded 13 investors out of more than $380,000.
INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS
Canada
Craig Michael Thompson was sanctioned and ordered to pay $9 million in disgorgement and penalties in connection with a $150 million Ponzi scheme run through Black Box Management Corp. and Invader Management Ltd. Thompson promised investors returns from day-trading and a factor-investing scheme.
Eric Drinkwater was permanently barred from holding a real estate license as a result of a $3.5 million real estate Ponzi scheme to which he pleaded guilty. He admitted to defrauding approximately 71 people in a Ponzi scheme that brought in more than $3.5 million.
England
John Burford was sentenced to 2 years in prison in connection with a £1 million investment fraud. He defrauded over 100 investors through his firm, Financial Trading Strategies Limited.
India
Jugal Kishore, 57, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with an alleged scheme run through Nexa Evergreen Private Limited. The scheme defrauded 150 investors by promising them 3% monthly returns. Kishore ran the scheme with Vinod Kumar. They also promised motorcycles, laptops, and mobile phones upon reaching milestones in the project that was supposedly generating returns. Subhash Bijarania and Ranveer Singh Bijarania were also accused in connection with the scheme.
Raj Kundra was charged in connection with an alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. He was accused of money laundering and receiving over $31 million worth of bitcoin from Amit Bhardwaj, the late mastermind behind the Gain Bitcoin scheme. Rajesh Satija is also being investigated in connection with the scheme.
Nigeria
Ahamba Tochukwu was arrested in connection with an alleged N2 billion Ponzi scheme run through Gavice Logistics Limited. The scheme involved courier and e-commerce services and promised 50% returns on investment.
No comments:
Post a Comment