November 2024 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

By Kathy Bazoian Phelps

Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for November 2024. There were at least 8 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month, 3 guilty pleas, and 1 conviction. Ponzi schemers received more than 39 years of prison sentences this month and the average age of the fraudsters was about 46 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

Steven Andiloro, 53, of North Carolina, pleaded guilty to charges that he engaged in Ponzi-like activity through his car service business and a marijuana dispensary business. He brought in more than $2.6 million and used Paycheck Protection Program COVID relief funds as part of the scheme.

Mathias Bama, Valentine Bama, and Hilaire Leunkam and their businesses, Prosperity Partners, Inc. and Prosperity Medical and Health System, LLC, of Maryland, were fined $17.2 million and permanently banned in connection with a $29 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 585 investors. The scheme promised a 6% monthly return for 12 months, equaling a 72% annual return, and targeted Cameroonian and Nigerian communities.

Vania Bell, who is currently serving a 6 year and 8-month sentence for running a Ponzi scheme along with her father, Hector May, 83, through Executive Compensation Planners Inc., was ordered to pay $31.6 million in restitution to victims. Hector May is serving a 13-year sentence.

Efrain Betancourt, Jr., 36, a Columbian national, was charged in Florida in connection with an alleged payday loan Ponzi scheme run through Sky Group USA, LLC. Betancourt promised returns of 24% to 120% and brought in $66 million from over 600 investors. Some investors were paid back, but there is still $39 million owed.

William V. Conn Jr. was hit with a judgment of more than $854,000 in connection with his role in John Wood’s Ponzi scheme run through Horizon Private Equity III LLC and Southport Capital. Conn was accused of running his own $2 million fund and putting his name on Woods’ funds as their straw manager.

Joseph Giuttari, of Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to charges that he ran a Ponzi scheme through Hybrid Capital Group, LLC, THE FENS CO., LLC, and Realty Funding Advisors, LLC, among others, and that he misappropriated more than $1.5 million. Giuttari used investor funds to make short term mortgages. The total amount of the loss is believed to be between $3,500,000 and $9,500,000.

Arsen Lusher, 49, of New Jersey, was arrested on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme through his trucking company that defrauded more than 20 investors out of more than $5 million. Lusher represented that he had a profitable trucking business that had delivery and installation contracts with multiple large retailers. Victims were promised 30% to 40% returns over one or two years. Lusher did not use the funds as represented to buy new trucks or grow the trucking business.

Matthew Mencarelli, 38, of Michigan, pleaded guilty to charges relating to a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than a dozen victims out of approximately $1.7 million. He represented that he had lucrative contracts with state and local governments to install fiber optic or other infrastructure.

Debra Lynn Mercer-Erwin, 61, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in connection with a $550 million Ponzi scheme involving 100 fake airplane sales and smuggling tons of cocaine. Mercer-Erwin provided U.S.-registered private planes to drug cartels and traffickers through her company, Aircraft Guaranty Corp., and also used another company, Wright Brothers Aircraft Title. She would transfer plane ownership using fake information when confronted by law enforcement. Co-defendant Frederico Machado is currently a fugitive in Argentina. 

Jennifer Iturraide Pina, 43, the wife of Cesar Humberto Pina, was charged with destruction of records when evidence revealed that she destroyed a cell phone while federal agents were at her door with a search warrant. Cesar Pina has been charged in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme run with RaaShaun Casey, or DJ Envy.

Gustavo Rodriguez, 48, or California, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his role in the IcomTech cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Rodriguez created and maintained the back-office system and website for the scheme. The IcomTech scheme founded by David Carmona, who was recently sentenced to 10 years, brought in about $58 million. Marco Ruiz-Ochoa was sentenced to 5 years in prison earlier this year. David Brend, 49, was convicted earlier this year.

Kris Roglieri, 44, was sued in a civil forfeiture action seeking control of his expansive sports car and watch collection. The lawsuit alleges that Roglieri ran a Ponzi scheme through Prime Capital Ventures, purporting to make large construction loans to businesses. 

Thomas Nicholas Salzano aka Nicholas Salzano, 66, of New Jersey, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in connection with the scheme run through National Realty Investment Advisors LLC. The scheme defrauded more than 2,000 investors in a $658 million Ponzi scheme. From 2018 to 2022, Salzano lured money into a real estate fund operated by NRIA, NRIA Partners Portfolio Fund I LLC. Roy Grabato, NRIA’s chief executive, was also charged but is a fugitive believed to be in the Philippines.

Michael Saquella, of Arizona, along with his companies Best Image I, LLC and Cactus Blue Entertainment, LLC, were ordered to pay about $1 million in restitution and penalties in connection with a Ponzi-like scheme that involved investments in various film and tv projects. Saquella had previously been the subject of a cease-and-desist order in 1978, and had pleaded guilty to other charges in 2007 stemming from promises to investors that “their investment would ‘probably’ make an 800% return within six to 18 months.” 

Sanjay Singh, 45, of Florida, was convicted in connection with a $100 million Ponzi scheme run through Royal Bengal Logistics. Singh raised approximately $112 million from investors and was previously charged by the SEC in a scheme that promised guaranteed returns of 12.5% to 325% from the purchase of contracts for trucking services. The scheme targeted the Haitian-American community. In 2023, the SEC also filed suit against Brisly Guillaume, 39, and Ricardi Celicourt, 40, alleging that they were unregistered brokers acting on behalf of RBL.

Dusan Varga and his firm Pannon Investment Advisors, of Florida, were sued by the SEC on allegations that they raised approximately $1.6 million from at least 20 investors in a scheme that targeted Serbian investors. 

Aaron A. Wagner, 42, of Utah, and his business partner, Michael Mains, 46, were arrested on allegations that they were running a Ponzi-like scheme. They ran the scheme by directing lenders and investors to send funds to entities they controlled - Wagscap Food Services, LLC, Hello Sugar, Dirty Bird, Everbowl, Crumbl Cookies, Las Botellas, and others.  Wagner is a millionaire restaurant entrepreneur who allegedly defrauded investors out of funds that he used for his personal gain. Instead of using the funds for restaurants and other businesses as promised, he used the funds for a home, real estate, and an $8 million private airplane. 

Trent William Witteveen, 40, of Michigan, was sentenced at 3 years and 5 months and ordered to pay approximately $844,000 in restitution in connection with a timber harvesting Ponzi scheme known as Titans Timber LLC. Investors were promised returns from investments supposed timber harvesting rights from landowners. Witteveen brought in more than $2 million and used some of that money for his personal expenses.

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

England

London Capital & Finance was found to have been operated as a Ponzi scheme. A court found that Michael Thomson, Spencer Golding, John Russell-Murphy, Paul Careless, and Robert Sedgwick knowingly participated in the fraud. The scheme promised high interest rates on mini-bonds and caused about 11,600 investors losses of more than £237 million. Investors were promised 8% returns.

India

Basudeb Bagchi, the founder of the Prayag Group, was arrested along with his son Avik.

Amber Dalal, the principal of Ritz Consultancy Services, was arrested in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme that defrauded approximately 1,300 investors out of more than Rs 600 crore.

Indonesia

Hector Aldwin Liao Pantollana was turned over the Philippine authorities following charges that he defrauded thousands of people out of $68 million in a casino-related scheme. Pantollana promised high returns for investing in the casino-junket industry, which recruits high rollers to gamble.

Turkey

Hakan Ates, the CEO of Denizbank, and Mehmet Aydogdu, were indicted in connection with an alleged $44 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded dozens of investors. Secil Erzan was imprisoned last year. The scheme promised 250% interest in what was described as a secretive fund owned by the bank.

Vietnam

Nguyen Quang Hoang, 36, CEO of GFDI, was arrested in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme that defrauded 7,000 investors out of VND3.7 trillion ($146 million). Tran Thi My Hanh was also arrested.

October 2024 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

By Kathy Bazoian Phelps

Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for October 2024. There were at least 9 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month and 4 guilty pleas. Ponzi schemers received more than 86 years of prison sentences this month and the average age of the fraudsters was about 46 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

William Berg, 52, was sentenced to 9 years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding investors out of more than $2 million. Berg was a financial advisor who sold life insurance and other financial products. He solicited investments from at least 17 clients to invest in two shell companies he secretly owned.

Russell Todd Burkhalter, 52, denied all wrongdoing by him and his company, Drive Planning LLC, in response to SEC allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme that involved $300,000,000. The SEC alleged that Drive Planning promised to place investor funds into land development deals that generated 10% returns every three months. Funds were instead misappropriated by Burkhalter to buy a condo in Mexico, a yacht, and private jet trips, among other lavish items.

David Carmona, 41, of New York was sentenced to 10 years and 1 month in prison in connection with his $8.4 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme run through IcomTech. He promised investors they would double their investment in 6 months from investors in cryptocurrency trading and mining. Marco Ruiz Ochoa was sentenced to 5 years in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to one count in connection with the scheme. Juan Arellano has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Nayeem Choudhury, 28, of Texas, was sentenced to 5 years and 3 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $6.1 million in connection with a scheme he ran through Dream Venture Capital Group LLC while a resident of North Carolina. Choudhury promised monthly returns as high as 25% from trading and defrauded at least 88 victims. Choudhury lost over $5 million in investor funds and used other funds for extravagant purchases.

Lawrence Coven, 61, of New Jersey, pleaded guilty to charges that he ran a $1 million Ponzi-like scheme through Sunrise Enterprises LLC, which purported to provide financial services to investors. Coven represented he would invest his victims’ funds through Sunrise to provide short-term loans to borrowers, and he guaranteed returns of between 10% and 15%, representing that the investments were risk-free.

Michael B. DePetrillo, a former New Orleans-based attorney, was sued by the CFTC on allegations that DePetrillo and his companies, NOLA FX Capital Management LLC and Meteor LLC were operating a Ponzi scheme. The CFTC alleged that DePetrillo collected $7.6 million from 40 investors and promised returns from trading for foreign currency exchanges. He was criminally charged last month, and those charges included additional allegations that he collected a total of $9.2 million from over 50 investors for investment in gold futures in addition to foreign exchange.

Maria Dulce Pino Dickerson was arrested in connection with a scheme that she ran through Creative Legal Services that targeted the Filipino community. She is alleged to have defrauded more than 140 people who invested more than $10 million and lost more than $4 million. 

Richardo Javier Guerra Farias and Francisco Javier Malave Hernandez, of Florida, consented to judgment with the SEC in connection with a scheme the SEC alleged was a $3.2 million Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded Venezuelan-Americans. They and their companies, Toller Stern Financial fka AEG Logistics and Toller Asset will pay $1.29 million. The scheme promised annual returns of up to 72%.

Karina Fernandez, Leonela Duarte, Bryan Guayara, Marco Rosas, and Erick Ruiz, of Florida, were sued by the SEC in connection with their roles in the MJ Capital Funding Ponzi scheme. The scheme was run by Johanna Garcia and defrauded investors out of $196 million, promising investors a 10% return per month. The scheme promised returns from purported short term, high interest loans to businesses.

Joseph Giuttari pleaded guilty to charges that he misappropriated more than $1.5 million in a Ponzi scheme run through Hybrid Capital Group, LLC, The Fens Co., LLC, and Realty Funding Advisors, LLC.

Jesse W. Harris, 36, was sentenced to 2½ years in connection with the scheme run through Harris Custom Projects LLC. Harris had previously pleaded guilty to securities fraud.

iCap Equity was found to have been operated as a Ponzi scheme by a bankruptcy court. iCap defrauded 1,800 real estate investors who invested $230 million into the firm. The scheme was formerly run by Chris Christensen, who previously disputed that iCap operated as a Ponzi scheme.

Luke M. Johnson, of Arizona, had his investment advisor license revoked and he had his company, Legend Capital Group, Inc., were ordered to pay over $229,000 in restitution in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme run through GPB Capital. David Gentile was convicted in connection with the scheme earlier this year.

David Kagel, 86, of California, was sentenced to 5 years’ probation and ordered to pay almost $14 million after pleading guilty to running a $15 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The scheme guaranteed profits of 20% to 100% within 30 days. Kagel’s law license was revoked in 2023. His alleged co-conspirators, David Gilbert Saffron and Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr., pleaded not guilty. They promoted the investment scheme through Bitcoin Wealth Management, Cloud9 Capital, Circle Society, Omicron Trust, and Mind Capital.

Evan Frederick Light, 21, of Indiana, pleaded guilty to charges that he stole almost $38 million in cryptocurrency from almost 600 victims. Light stole customer personal identifiable information during a cyber-intrusion and then stole cryptocurrency worth over $37 million. 

John Lopez, 73, was found guilty of charges relating to his operation of a Ponzi scheme that targeted victims in New Mexico. The scheme was run through Personal Money Management Co. and brought in approximately $19.4 million. Lopez represented that he had an advanced investment algorithm and that he had invested funds in stocks and bonds, but he actually bought $13.3 million worth of gold and silver.

Arsen Lusher, 49, was arrested on charges that he defrauded at least 20 victims out of approximately $5 million in an alleged Ponzi scheme. He represented that he had a profitable trucking business that had delivery and installation contracts with multiple large retailers. Investors were promised returns of between 30% and 40% over one or two years. Lusher raised more than $40 million.

Frank Mercado, 27, of North Carolina, was sentenced to 3 years and 5 months and ordered to pay over $709,000 in restitution in connection with a Ponzi-style scheme that defrauded over 100 people out of more than $700,000. He ran the scheme through Tiger-Wolf Capital and promised returns from options trading and similar investments.

Babu Ramaraj, 47, was sentenced to 7 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $15 million in restitution in connection with a Ponzi scheme run through DAB Inspection and Consulting Services, a small home contractor doing patio and deck projects. The scheme caused more than $15 million in losses from the $40 million that he took in.

Joseph Safranko aka Ted Safranko, David William Negus-Romvari, and their company, Traders Domain FX Ltd dba Traders Domain, were charged by the CFTC in a civil enforcement action, along with Ares Global Ltd. dba Trubluefx, a Saint Lucia company, Algo Capital LLC, Algo FX Capital LLC, Algo FX Capital Advisor LLC nka Quant5 Advisor LLC, Robert Collazo Jr., Juan Jose Herman aka JJ Herman, John Fortini, Stephen Likos, Michael Shannon Sims, Holton Buggs Jr., Centurion Capital Group Inc., Alejandro Santiestaban aka Alex Santi, Gabriel Beltran, and Archie Rice. The CFTC alleges that the defendants defrauded more than 2,000 customers who invested more than $283 million. 

Lisa Schiff, of New York pleaded guilty to running a scheme that defrauded her clients out of $6.5 million. Schiff was a high-profile art advisor and abruptly shut down her business, SFA Advisory, last year when accused of running a Ponzi scheme. Schiff diverted client funds from the sale of the art or payments they made to purchase art and instead pocketed the money.

Ross Schlomann, 45, of Wisconsin, was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay $2.1 million in restitution in connection with a scheme in the construction industry.

Juan Tacuri, 46, of Florida, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $3.6 million in restitution in connection with the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as Forcount and later as Weltsys. The scheme targeted Spanish speaking victims around the world and promised guaranteed returns on investments and the doubling of those investments withing 6 months. Victims were defrauded out of $8.4 million and were unable to withdraw money from their online portal accounts. Forcount continued to promote the fraudulent scheme by offering proprietary cryptotokens known as Mindexcoin. Tacuri had pleaded guilty earlier this year. Francisley Da Silva and Antonia Perez Hernandez were charged alongside Tacuri in 2022.

Dusan Varga and Pannon Investment Advisors LLC, of Florida, were charged by the SEC on allegations that they operated a $1.6 million Ponzi scheme that targeted the Serbian-American community. They scheme raised funds from at least 20 investors to invest in the Pannon Risk-Managed Income Fund.

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

Austria

Five co-conspirators were sentenced in connection with a $16 million cryptocurrency and real estate Ponzi scheme. They received sentences of 5 years, 30 months and 21 months suspended. They used plastic bags to transport cash, hid money in shoeboxes and used crypto platforms, making it difficult to trace the money. The scheme defrauded 40,000 victims and is one of Austria’s largest fraud cases to date. 

Czechia

Ondřej Janata is being prosecuted for an alleged Ponzi scheme that is believed to have harmed investors in the amount of 1.5 billion crowns. The scheme was run through Growing Way, which promised high returns from an alternative investment fund.

Nigeria 

Favour Ekoh was arrested in connection with an alleged N700 million Ponzi scheme. Ekoh anchors a program on Urban Radio and is accused of luring investors into a Ponzi scheme. Investors were invited to invest into a scheme called Life Trading under Leverage Index Limited, where she promised 10% returns. The station’s managing director, Bamikole Owoyomi, was also arrested. 

South Africa

Ben La Grange was sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with a scheme run through Steinhoff International Holdings. La Grange pleaded guilty to charges of fraud involving $21 million.

Michael Haldane and Mauro Forlin were barred from the financial services section for 30 years due to their involvement in the BHI Trust Ponzi scheme. The BHI Trust scheme was orchestrated by Craig Warriner and involved approximately $166 million.

Kabelo Gwamanda, the former mayor of Johannesburg, was arrested on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme 10 years before he was involved in politics.

Louis Liebenberg and his wife, Desiree Liebenberg, were arrested along with Magdelena Petronella Kleynhans, Johannes Petrus Badenhorst, Helena Dorothea, Amy Schulenburg, Adriaan Dewald Strydom, Christelle Badenhorst, Nicolize van Heerden and Walter Niendinger in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme. Liebenberg ran the scheme through Tariomix and Forever Zircon, purporting to buy and sell diamonds. Investors were promised high returns over a short time using a cashless platform called AE Switch. 

Thailand

Pansuk Siriwipa, 30, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded almost 200 victims out of over $25 million. Her husband, Pi Jiapeng, engaged in this luxury good fraud which they ran through Tradenation and Tradeluxury.

September 2024 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

By Kathy Bazoian Phelps

Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for September 2024. There were at least 4 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month and 3 guilty pleas. Ponzi schemers received more than 44 years of prison sentences this month and the average age of the fraudsters was about 50 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

Kenneth Alexander of Axiom Financial and Vanguard Holdings Group, Caedrynn Connor of Benchmark Capital Group, Robert Welsh of FFC Capital Ventures and Christopher Fisher of Magnolia Financial Group were sued in connection with an alleged $138 million scheme. Authorities are seeking to seize two properties they allege were purchased through proceeds of a Ponzi-type scheme.

Rudy Avila aka Jose Rodolfo Avila Guiterrez had a judgment entered against him and in favor of the CFTC for $10,5 million for defrauding more than 200 investors out of $6 million. Avila had represented he was an international finance consultant. The CFTC alleged that Avila, his company The L.I.F.T. Group LLC and two Costa Rican companies — CIG Internacional Sociedad Anonima and Trading Technologies Group Sociedad Anonima — defrauded at least 170 clients out of at least $4.2 million between 2017 and 2020, and that Avila then used three other companies — Trading Ventures Group LLC, Capital Ventures Group LLC and Ventures Group LLC — to defraud an additional 55 clients out of at least $1.8 million since 2019.

Taylor Orris Bank, of North Dakota, was ordered to stop selling unregistered investment contracts in an alleged Ponzi scheme run through Agridime LLC. Agridime is a Texas-based livestock dealer, and Bank promised guaranteed returns of 15% to 32% from investments in the company. Agridime raised at least $191 million from more than 2,100 investors. Bank earned $6 million in commissions for selling the investment contracts.

Stanislav Brill aka Stan Bril aka Slava Bril, 41, of Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison in connection with a Ponzi scheme that involved the theft of about $6.7 million in federal pandemic relief funds. Brill operated the scheme through Mortgage Consultant Group and took in over $1 million from investors. He promised returns from loans on real estate and construction projects. He also borrowed money through The Brill Group, Inc. and used SAB Services LLC to run the scheme. The U.S. Attorney said Brill “blithely defrauded everyone from individual investors — many of whom lost their life savings or kids’ college funds — to a community bank, to the U.S. government and the millions of taxpayers who fund it. Meantime, he was shopping for Bentleys and boats.”

Emir Jesus Matos Camargo and Aureus Revenue Group LLC were sued by the CFTC on allegations that they were running a Ponzi-like scheme that targeted Spanish-speaking immigrants out of $1.5 million. The scheme involved a pooled investment fund that traded commodity futures contracts and promised guaranteed monthly returns between 1.5% and 3.75%.

Maria Dickerson aka Dulce Pino, 47, a Filipina pageant queen, was arrested on charges that she was running a Ponzi scheme through Creative Legal Fundings and The Ubiquity Group LLC. Dickerson promised approximately 130 investors fixed monthly returns of 10% to 17.5%, with compounding monthly interest from a legal services company. She represented that she would use investor funds to make loans to personal injury attorneys to fund their lawsuits. The scheme raised approximately $7 million from investors.

William Koo Ichioka, 30, of New York, was fined over $36 million in connection with a cryptocurrency and foreign exchange Ponzi scheme. Ichioka was previously found guilty of running the scheme that guaranteed returns of 10% every 30 business days. He previously pleaded guilty to owing non-family investors in “Ichioka Ventures” at least $21 million and owing his family members over $40 million. He was previously sentenced to serve four years in prison and ordered to pay a $5 million fine.

Sam Ikkurty, of Oregon, Jafia, LLC, Ikkurty Capital, LLC dba Rose City Income Fund I LP, Rose City Income Fund II, and Seneca Ventures, LLC were ordered to pay more than $209 million in sanctions relating to a commodity pool Ponzi scheme. The CFTC had sued the defendants for commodities violations in connection with crypto hedge funds.

Francisco Javier Malave Hernandez and Ricardo Javier Guerra Farias, of Florida, and Toller Stern Financial LLC were charged by the SEC in connection with a $5 million alleged scheme. The scheme involved the sale of promissory notes that the defendants represented were secured by $20 million of assets and promised returns of 24% to 72%. The scheme targeted the Venezuelan American community.

Brett Mauri, 61, was convicted in connection with a $2 million “Ponzi-like” scheme. Mauri is a home builder and used Bitterroot Timber Frames and Three Mile Creek Post & Beam, LLC to run the scheme that ran from 2018 through 2022.

Jeffrey Morris, 37, of West Virginia, was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay about $5 million in restitution in connection with a Ponzi scheme he ran through Roxby Development LLC. Morris promised returns from the use of the money to develop real estate. 

Long Nguyen, 35, pleaded guilty to charges relating to a scheme that defrauded at least 20 people out of $2 million. He ran the scheme between 2015 and 2021.

William Rhew III, of North Carolina, was sued by the SEC on allegations that he was running a $28 million Ponzi-like manufacturing debt investment scheme through Chadley Capital LLC. Rhew raised more than $28 million from approximately 130 investors, promising between 18% and 48% annual returns on promissory notes. Rhew represented that he was using the funds to buy credit invoices of small and medium-sized businesses in the factoring industry.

James Robinson, an extradited British citizen, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his role in the $57 million Ponzi scheme involving co-working company Bar Works, Inc., a bogus workspace share venture. Robinson had previously pleaded guilty, along with David Kennedy, to the scheme run by Renwick Haddow and James Moore. Robinson and Kenney controlled United Property Group and related entities that sold real estate and other investment opportunities to investors. They recruited agents to sell workspace leases in Bar Works and knowingly provided false offering documents. 

Robert F. Rothluebbers, 68, pleaded guilty to charges that he operated a scheme that raised at least $350,000 from four investors. He falsely claimed he would use the investors’ funds to purchase R-22 refrigerant in bulk, at a discount, and then re-sell the refrigerant to contractors at a 50% profit because the refrigerant is gradually being phased out. 

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

Australia

Tony Iervasi, 58, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in connection with an AU$180 million scheme. Iervasi was the director of Courtenay House and promised returns to approximately 585 investors from trading in foreign exchange and futures markets. Athan Papoulias was sentenced in 2023 to 2 years in prison and David Sipina pleaded guilty.

Koon Tung “Gary” Chu was ordered to repay investors in connection with a scheme he had run through the Ralan Group. Ralan Group owed investors more than $500 million when it collapsed in 2019. A court ordered Chu to repay about $7.4 million to an investor defrauded in the scheme.

England

Michael Stanley, 68, was sentenced to 6 years in connection with his operation of a Ponzi scheme disguised as a betting syndicate run through Layzey Racing Syndicate. The scheme allegedly defrauded thousands of members out of at least £10.5 million after bringing in about £44.2 million.

Ghana

Authorities arrested 257 women and 230 men involved in recruiting victims into the QNet scheme. 

India

Authorities charged 25 people in connection with an alleged scheme run through IX Global LLC, IX Global Academy Private Limited, Pochale Global Academy Private Limited, and TB Global.

Singapore

Chen Wei, 51, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 4 years in jail in connection with a crypto Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of more than $1.8 million. Wei represented that he could provide large returns from mining cryptocurrency in China through A&A Blockchain Technology. The scheme’s mastermind, Yang Bin, 61, was sentenced last month to 6 years in prison and Wang Xinghong was sentenced to 5 years. 

Turkey

Two managers of crypto platform OmegaPro – Robert Velghe and Andreas Szakacs – were arrested in connection with a scheme that promised returns of up to 300% over a maximum of 16 months. Authorities have assumed that the scheme is linked to Ruja Ignatova, known as the Crypto Queen who founded OneCoin. 

August 2024 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

By Kathy Bazoian Phelps

Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for August 2024. There were at least 9 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month. Ponzi schemers received more than 111 years of prison sentences. The average age of the fraudsters was about 51 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

Jonathan Adam, 42, of Texas, and his brother, Tanner Adam, 38, of Florida, and their firms GCZ Global LLC and Triten Financial Group LLC, were charged by the SEC in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency scheme. Investors were promised returns from loans to a crypto asset trading platform that used a “bot” to supposedly identify arbitrage trading opportunities. The scheme brought in $60 million from more than 80 investors and promised returns of 13.5%.

Bernardo Mendia-Alcaraz, 52, and his private equity firm, Toltec Capital LLC, were charged by the SEC in connection with an alleged $3.3 million Ponzi-like scheme. They promised returns from low-risk private funds.

Carl Arnal aka Michael J. Cohen, 65, Christopher Vaughan, Thompson Hunt and Associates, Ltd. (THA), Brookdale Consultants LLC, Growth Point Consultants, Inc., Damon Artis, and Richard Gavzie were charged by the SEC for their roles in two alleged fraudulent schemes. The scheme raised $1.3 million by misrepresenting the Thompson Hunt investment as a government bond. Arnal and Vaughan misappropriated more than $1 million of the $1.3 million raised. Artis and Gavzie were also accused of soliciting $7 million in selling microcap securities. 

Janalie C. Bingham, of Florida, her convicted felon husband, Jean Joseph, and their company Wells Real Estate Investment, LLC, were charged by the SEC on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme that raised at least $56 million from approximately 660 investors. They represented that they had a $450 million real estate portfolio, but in reality, only $11 million was used to purchase real property. The scheme promised returns of 12% annually and 99% at the end of three years. 

Russell Todd Burkhalter, 52, of Georgia, and his company Drive Planning LLC, were charged by the SEC in connection with an alleged $300 million real estate Ponzi scheme. The scheme brought in money from more than 2,000 investors, promising returns of 10% every three months from land development projects. Burkhalter allegedly used investors funds to buy a $3.1 million yacht, $2 million for a luxury condo, and spent $4.6 million on chartering private jets. Burkhalter’s wife, Jacqueline Burkhalter, and The Burkhalter Ranch Corporation, Drive Properties, Drive Gulfport Properties, and TBR Supply House were also named as relief defendants.

Robert Christensen, 54, and Anthony Matic, 55, of Oregon, were indicted on charges relating to an alleged Ponzi scheme in which investors were promised returns from the supposed renovation and sale of undervalued residential properties. They promised returns of 8% to 15% within 30 to 90 days. The scheme defrauded investors out of about $11 million, and commercial lenders out of around $7 million. Christensen and Matic pleaded not guilty. In 2023, the SEC had accused them of running a Ponzi-like scheme through their businesses Foresee Inc., The Commission PDX LLC, The Policy PDX LLC, and Innings 150 LLC.

Kalin Thanh Dao, 32, of Minnesota was charged in connection with a fraudulent investment ring that defrauded more than 200 investors out of more than $10 million. Her father, Nghia Trong Dao, and mother, Thu Nguyet Le Dao, also face charges relating to the scheme. The scheme was run through TD Financial Services, NLC TD Financial Services, NLC Financial Services and NLC Venture Group, and promised returns of 20% to 2,000% over the course of one to 18 months from supposed ventures in stocks, gold, diamonds, and oil commodities.

David Gentile, 57, was found guilty of running a Ponzi-like fraud through GPB Capital Holdings LLC. GPB is an investment advisory firm that misrepresented the performance of the funds and the source of monthly distributions to investors. More than $1.8 billion was raised from thousands of investors. Jeffrey Schneider, 55, the owner and CEO of marketing company Ascendant Capital LLC, was also convicted. Jeffrey Lash, a former managing partner at GPB, pleaded guilty last year.

Tom Girardi, 85, was convicted on charges relating to a 10-year Ponzi scheme run through his law firm, Girardi Keese. Girardi blamed his former chief accountant, Chris Kamon, 50, for at least $15 million Girardi siphoned from client settlement funds. Kamon allegedly misappropriated about $50 million from Girardi Keese accounts.

Jesse W. Harris, 36, of Kansas, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison in connection with a scheme run through Harris Custom Projects LLC.

Cynthia and Eddy Petion and their company Nova Tech Ltd. were charged by the SEC with running a cryptocurrency scheme that took in more than $650 million from over 200,000 investors around the world. Nova Tech is a crypto investment platform. The SEC also charged six NovaTech promoters—Martin Zizi, Dapilinu Dunbar, James Corbett, Corrie Sampson, John Garofano, and Marsha Hadley. They are accused of recruiting investors. 

Ross O. Schlomann, 45, of Wisconsin, was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay $2.1 million in restitution in connection with a scheme involving home construction. Schlomann was a contractor with Refurbs Properties, LLC and defrauded more than a dozen victims whose homes he had promised to build. He used customer funds for other purposes, including shortages on previous projects.

Avinash Singh, 42, of Florida, was sentenced to 24 years in prison in connection with a $57 million investment fraud Ponzi scheme run through Highrise Advantage LLC. More than 1,100 victims were defrauded in the scheme. Singh claimed he was a successful foreign exchange trader, and investors were promised returns from investment in retail foreign currency contracts.

Paul Horton Smith Sr., 61, of California, was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in prison and order to pay approximately $13.3 million in restitution in connection with a Ponzi scheme run through Northstar Communications LLC, Planning Services Inc., and eGate LLC that lasted nearly 20 years. The scheme defrauded at least 200 investors and brought in more than $24 million. Smith promised returns from purported investments in real estate and the stock market and that investments would generate a fixed rate of return.

James Stevens, 47, was sentenced to 4 years in prison in connection with a loan Ponzi scheme that was run through Primis Bank. Stevens is a former commercial lender who pled guilty to bank fraud by issuing fraudulent loans. Primis lost over $2.4 million. 

Josh S. Verne, 47, of Florida, was charged by the SEC for falsifying documents as part of a Ponzi scheme to induce investors to invest. Verne separately pleaded not guilty to related criminal charges.

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

Canada

Ronald James Aitkens was sentenced to 4 years in prison in connection with a $112 million Ponzi scheme run through Royal Bengal Logistics. Aitkens raised more than $35 million from about 1,500 investors between 2005 and 2007.

Brian Robert Gunsten, 52, was charged in connection with an alleged wine Ponzi scheme in which victims loaned money to purchase wine that would later be resold. There were more than $1.3 million in losses.

Ward Derek Jensen, 55, was sentenced to three years in prison in connection with a scheme run through Kassel Enterprises. Jensen had promised investors returns of 14% to 18% per year from investment in a private fund.

India

Sandeep Chowdhury, 41, was arrested on charges that he was running a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Chowdhury is the CEO of Yes World. 

Authorities attached assets in connection with its investigation of Pearlvine International, which is alleged to have run a Ponzi scheme from 2018 to 2023. 

Jiyajur Raheman Syed was arrested on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme through LFS Broking Company. The scheme allegedly defrauded 55 people. The company claimed to invest 80% of the funds in blue-chip companies.

Philippines

Joel Apolinario was found guilty in connection with the Ponzi scheme run through Kapa Community Ministry International, Inc. Apolinario and Christopher D. Abad were sentenced to one year and one day.

Poland

Marcin and Katarzyna P. were sentenced to 15 years and 12 years six months, respectively in connection with a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 18,000 investors out of $225 million.  The scheme was fun through Amber Gold. 

Singapore

Yang Bin, 61, was sentenced to 6 years in prison in connection with a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme run through A&A Blockchain Innovation that defrauded more than 700 investors. Bin promised investors .5% returns daily from purportedly owning 300,000 machines that could mine cryptocurrency through its Chain Mining Scheme. Lu Huangbin, Chen Wei, and Wang Xinghong are co-conspirators. Wang was jailed for 5 years. A total of about $6.7 million was invested. 

South Korea

Byun Young-oh, the CEO of Wakon that operates the platform MainEthernet, was arrested on charges of running a scheme that generated $366 million of funds from over 500 investors. Investors were promised returns of between 45% and 50%. Byun denied that he was involved in a Ponzi scheme. Yeom Mo-si was also arrested in connection with the alleged scheme. Wakon’s parent company, SAK-3, is also under investigation.

Taiwan

Authorities sentenced 31 individuals in connection with a Ponzi scheme run though a peer to peer lending platform known as im.B, which is short for “I am Bank.” Tseng Yao-feng was sentenced to 16.5 years in prison, and his girlfriend Chang Shu-fen was sentenced to 12 years and two months. The other 29 defendants in the case received sentences ranging from 1–8 years.

Turkey

Andreas Szakacs aka Emre Avci was arrested in connection with a cryptocurrency and foreign exchange scheme run through OmegaPro aka Go Global. OmegaPro promised returns of up to 300% through a top-secret trading algorithm. The scheme allegedly defrauded millions of investors and brought in approximately $4 billion before it collapsed in 2022. Szakacs and co-founders Dilawar Singh and Mike Sims went into hiding after the collapse. Juan Carlos Reynoso was arrested in Mexico in 2023.

July 2024 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

By Kathy Bazoian Phelps

Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for July 2024. There were at least 13 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month. Ponzi schemers received more than 22 years of prison sentences plus one life sentence. There were 4 guilty pleas. The average age of the fraudsters was about 54 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

Roosevelt Tobias Bailey, 68, of Georgia, and his company Borg Investment Bank & Capital Trust, were charged by the SEC in connection with a fraudulent prime bank and gold and diamond investment scheme, along with Alvin C. Jones, Esq., of Florida, for aiding and abetting the scheme. They raised more than $1.6 million from at least 26 investors, and Jones, an attorney, allowed the investor money to flow through his trust account.

Michelle Bisnoff aka Michelle Angeline Silverstein aka Shelly Silverstein, 57, of Florida, was arrested on charges that she defrauded investors out of $2 million. Bisnoff owns ESOS Rings, Inc. and represented that ESOS owned patents for “smart rings,” a wearable device that could be used to make contactless payments. ESOS did not actually own the patents.

Ricardi Celicourt, 40, and Brisly Guillaue, 39, of Florida, were sued by the SEC on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme through Royal Bengal Logistics, a trucking and logistics business. The scheme allegedly defrauded Haitian-American victims. The SEC alleges that they helped raise nearly $109 million from 1,500 investors. The scheme was led by Sanja Singh, 43.

James M. DelVerne, 54, Doug Miller, 60, Gary Rathbun, 67, and Nancy Rathbun, 72, and John T. Walters, 53, were indicted on charges relating to the Eliyahu Weinstein Ponzi scheme. The scheme allegedly defrauded at least 200 people out of $72 million.

Yossi Engel had a final judgment entered against him in an action by the SEC. Engel ran a $47 million Ponzi scheme through iWitness Tech, LLC that targeting members of the orthodox Jewish community. Engel first represented that he would purchase and install security equipment, and later represented that he would purchase property in Israel, develop it and then resell it.

Vitaly Fargesen, 54, and Igor Palatnik, 49, were sentenced to 4 years and 6½ years in prison, respectively, for their role in the fraudulent scheme run through CanaFarma Corp., later known as CanaFarma Hemp Products Corp. They represented that CanaFarma was a “fully integrated cannabis company addressing the entire cannabis spectrum from seed to delivery of consumer products.” The scheme lured in $14 million of investor funds.

Debra Mae Carter, 65, of Texas, the mistress of William “Doc” Gallagher, 83, was sentenced to three life sentences in connection with a scheme that exploited the elderly. Gallagher hosted a radio show and called himself “the Money doctor.” The scheme took in more than $31 million over 10 years and defrauded more than 170 mostly retired investors. Carter laundered the money through rental homes and fake charities, among other things.

Johanna Michely Garcia, 41, of Florida, pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a $190 million Ponzi scheme run through MJ Capital Funding. Garcia called herself “Mother Teresa” in Florida and represented that she was loaning small businesses money they needed to operate. Garcia’s co-defendants, Christian Gonzalez and Pavel Ruiz Hernandez, were previously sentenced in connection with the scheme. Even after MJ Capital was shut down by the FBI in 2021, the three began running the fraud through New Beginning Global Funding, New Beginning Capital Funding, Lion Heart Capital Group, GMR Remodeling, and Group Management.

Sam Ikkurty, of Oregon, and his firms, Jafia LLC, Ikkurty Capital LLC, Rose City Income Fund, Rose City Income Fund II, and Seneca Ventures, were ordered to pay restitution of almost $84 million and disgorgement of almost $37 million in connection with a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The scheme promised investors returns from 15% to 2,708% returns from a $100 investment in stake mining and digital tollbooths. The CFTC had charged Ikkurty and Ravishankar Avadhanam in 2022 for conducting a deceptive scheme that solicited about $44 million from at least 170 investors. A court in Illinois determined that two altcoins in the scheme, OHM and KIMA, were commodities.

Adrian J. Kawuba, of Massachusetts, had a final judgment entered against him in a case filed by the SEC in connection with a $2 million securities Ponzi scheme. Kawuba had promised investors return of 25% to 59% in as little as 12 days to 7 months and that he was using the funds to finance short-term projects related to youth sports, entertainment events, and private soccer clubs. Kawuba had been sentenced to 27 months in prison in April in connection with the scheme.

Bradley J. Konorman and Adam R. Salon, of Ohio, were charged in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 200 victims out of more than $72 million.

Francius Marganda, 41, an Indonesian national, pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a $23 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 400 victims. He targeted the Indo-American victims through two sham loan programs called Easy Transfer and Global Transfer. He falsely represented that they were short-term, high-interest loan programs.

John N. Matson, 67, of California, and his company, South Bay Acquisitions, LLC, were charged by the SEC on allegations that they were running a scheme that raised approximately $1,535,000. Matson promised investors returns of 12% to 20% from LLC Bonds that were functionally like promissory notes.

Briton James Moore, who was convicted in connection with the Bar Works Ponzi scheme in 2022, died in prison three years into an 11-year sentence. The scheme defrauded more than 800 people out of $58 million. The scheme had offered returns from hot-desking space in refurbished bars and restaurants around the world. The ringleader, Renwick Haddow, 55, is yet to be sentenced. Moore’s co-conspirator Savraj ‘Sam’ Gata-Aura was sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2020. UK citizens James Robinson and David Kennedy pleaded guilty earlier this year.

Timothy Andrew Nemeckay, 64, of Utah, was sentenced to one day in prison and 24 months of supervised release and ordered to pay approximately $1.7 million in restitution following his admission that he misappropriated approximately $1.7 million from investors. Nemeckay had promised returns from investments in Mine Shaft Brewing. The scheme defrauded 100 investors.

Robert Newell, 63, of California and his company, Black Hawk Funding, were sued by the SEC on allegations that they raised $37.7 million from about 200 investors. Newell originally focused on the real estate industry but pivoted to cannabis when it was legalized in California. Newell was financial advisor to three funds, Verde Ventures Inc., Verde Holdings Inc., and Verde Partner Inc. Newell also used National Asset Valuation Services to misappropriate funds. They promised 10% annual returns. 

Mark Nordlicht was sentenced to 6 months of home confinement after he was found guilty of fraud in connection with the Platinum Partners Ponzi scheme. Nordlicht and David Levy were convicted on charges that they diverted proceeds from the sale of assets held by Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC, a company in Platinum’s portfolio, and defrauded bondholders by funneling $70 million to Platinum. David Small, a Platinum manager, was convicted in 2022.

Nestor Nunez aka Salvador Molina, 66, and Antonio Perez Hernandez, 49, pleaded guilty to charges relating to the Forcount Trader Systems Inc. cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The scheme was based in Brazil and defrauded Spanish-speaking investors out of $8.4 million. Nunez, an actor, pretended to be the fictitious Forcount CEO “Salvador Molina.” Francisley Da Silva, 39, was the ringleader of the scheme and was arrested in 2022. Juan Tacuri, 46, pleaded guilty in June.

Michael Rabb, an attorney, pleaded not guilty to charges that he operated a Ponzi scheme through Isotex Health, LLC. Rabb was charged along with Byron Gruber, Jason Bradley Cross and Eugene Elfrank.

Babu Ramaraj, 46, of Virginia, was charged by the SEC in connection with an alleged $31 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 70 investors. Ramaraj claimed that his company, DAB Inspection and Consulting Services, LLC, was doing civil engineering inspection work on federal and state projects. The SEC alleged that the contracts never existed, and Ramaraj created phony contracts and subcontractor invoices to defraud investors. Criminal charges were also filed in June.

Brian Simms, 46, of Indianna, was sentenced to 7½ years in prison and ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution following his guilty plea for running a Ponzi scheme through Brendanwood Brokerage. Simms defrauded at least 22 victims by convincing them to liquidate traditional 401(k) accounts and life insurance policies and to deposit those funds with Brendanwood. Simms took in almost $4 million from his victims.

Paul Horton Smith Sr., of California was barred by the SEC for his role in that $24 million Ponzi run through Northstar Communications LLC, Planning Services Inc. and eGate LLC. Smith had previously pleaded guilty to defrauding at least 35 investors out of $5.6 million.

Tilila Siola Walker Sumchai, 61, was charged in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 1,000 people out of $13 million. Sumchai solicited Tongan investors and claimed to use a secret algorithm in her “Tongi Tupe” investment program that promised large returns within weeks or months.

Abner Alejandro Tinoco and his company Kikit & Mess Investments, LLC were ordered to pay over $31 million in penalties in connection with a foreign currency and cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The scheme defrauded 199 victims who invested over $7.2 million into the scheme. Tinoco previously pleaded guilty to the scheme and was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

Australia

John Bigatton was sentenced after pleading guilty to providing unlicensed financial advice in connection with the BitConnect Ponzi scheme and BCC token. BitConnect had presented itself as a crypto lending platform and defrauded investors out of $2.4 billion. Bigatton was released without prison time on the condition he pay a security of $100 and comply with a good behavior period of three years.

Canada

Curtis Quigley, drowned in a river while awaiting trial on charges that he and Kathleen Treadgold had run a $7.8 million Ponzi scheme for 12 years. They had allegedly run a real estate fix and flip scheme, and the trial was set to begin in 2025. Quigley was 56 at the time of his death.

England

Elliot Gunton pleaded guilty to running a crypto Ponzi scheme using a Coinbase dummy website. He was sentenced to 3 ½ years in prison. Gunton is a computer hacker who stole more than $900,000 from more than 500 Coinbase accounts.

India

Raeesa Khan Poonawala, 46, and her husband Mustafa Baig were charged on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme that promised 150% in 90 to 100 days. The scheme is believed to have defrauded 444 people.

K D Prathapan was arrested in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme run through Highrich Online Shoppe. After Prathapan’s accounts were frozen, he allegedly relaunched his scheme under the name HR Innovation.

Authorities filed a complaint against Radhe Shyam and Bansi Lal for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme through Future Maker Lifecare Private Limited, Hisar, and M/s FMLC Global Marketing Private Limited. The scheme promised returns of up to 5 to 8 times the principal investment amount in two years.

Ashish Shah, 44, was arrested on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme promising investors 84% returns from the stock market.

Philippines

Bernadeth Albaracin and John Mark Pineda were arrested on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme through Skyline Trading aka Hybrid Trading aka Neon Marketing. The scheme allegedly promised returns of 35% to 50%.

The SEC warned against investing in Safe District Enterprise as it is not authorized to solicit investments from the public. Safe District is owned by Rexon G. Cortez and Lovely Charisma S. Cortez. Investors were promised 5% to 12% profits monthly.

Spain

Stijn Vanstraelen, 45, was arrested on allegations that he ran a multimillion-euro cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The scheme took in at least 24 million euros, and investors were promised returns from investments in cryptocurrencies, which included connections to Nanocoin, Nanoclub and CryptoTrain. Victims were unable to access their funds due to blocked cryptocurrency wallets.

Thailand

Pimprapassorn Jaemjaras, 44, was arrested on allegations that she was one of the operators of a Ponzi scheme known as OD Capital. The scheme promised returns of 10%.

June 2024 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

By Kathy Bazoian Phelps

Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for June 2024. There were at least 6 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month. Ponzi schemers received more than 23 years of prison sentences and there were 4 guilty pleas. The average age of the fraudsters was about 45 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

Vincent Falci, 57, was charged on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme that stole $5.3 million from investors. Falci is a New Jersey investment manager who represented that he was investing in day-trading and real estate.

Joshua Goltry, 30, pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme through JAG Cap LLC dba JAG Capital, an investment fund. Goltry had represented that he managed more than $50 million but obtained about $3 million over the course of the scheme. He claimed that the fund’s performance exceeded 200% and at times exceeded 1000%.

Alan John Hanke, 50, pleaded guilty to charges that he misappropriated more than $8 million as part of a Ponzi scheme run through IOLO Capital. Hanke promised investors high returns in a short period of time from investments in standby letters of credit, medium term notes, and high yield bonds. He also promised that the investments were insured against losses. Hanke filed bankruptcy in 2021, seeking to discharge the debts but failed to disclose the proceeds from the sale of an airplane.

William Logsdon, 55, was sentenced to 9 years in prison in connection with a $2.1 million scheme that he ran with his mother-in-law, Jamie Thompson. Thompson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Ruja Ignatova had a $5 million bounty placed on her head by the U.S. State Department. Ignatova went missing in 2017 and is believed to be the ringleader of the OneCoin Ponzi scheme. She was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list in 2022. Ignatova faces charges in the U.S., Germany and India. Co-founder Karl Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and Bulgarian national Irina Dilkinska and American Mark Scott were sentenced to prison earlier this year - 4 years and 10 years, respectively. 

Siddarth Jawahar, 36, of Missouri, and his investment company, Swiftarc Capital, and other related companies, were charged in connection with running a Ponzi scheme that brought in $35 million. Only $10 million was actually invested, and Jawahar used funds to pay for private planes, stays at luxurious hotels, and extravagant dinners.

Frank Mercado, 26, of North Carolina, was charged and pleaded guilty to defrauding more than 100 people through a Ponzi scheme run through his business, Tiger-Wolf Capital. The scheme run from 2019 to 2022 and victims lost more than $700,000. Investors were promised more than a 50% return on their investment from supposed options trading.

Michael Mooney, Britt Wright and Penny Flippen were barred by the SEC and fined about $230,000 in penalties each based on their role in the Horizon Private Equity III Ponzi scheme run by John J. Woods. The scheme raised $100 million, and Woods was sentenced to almost 8 years in prison. Investors were promised 6% to 7% returns from portfolios in government bonds, stocks, and real estate products.

Della Far Perez pleaded not guilty to charges that she stole $400,000 in restitution from Ponzi scheme victims.

Eddy Petion and Cynthia Petion were charged in connection with a scheme run through NovaTechFX and AWS Mining Pty Ltd based on allegations that they were running a $1 billion fraud through a cryptocurrency trading and mining business. Over 11,000 investors deposited over $1 billion of crypto, but less than $26 million was actually traded. The scheme targeted the Haitian community. Others named in the suit include top promoters and recruiters James Corbett, Martin Zizi and Frantz Ciceron; and several companies linked to the group — NovaTech Advisors, NovaPay, Kings Multi Services Agency, Trinity of Success and Positive Vision Marketing.

Sergei Potapenko, 39, and Ivan Turõgin, 39, were accused of running a Ponzi scheme through HashFlare, a cloud mining contract service. The scheme allegedly defrauded investors out of approximately $575 million by selling mining capacity that they did not actually have. HashFlare used Ecohouse and Dalmeron, which were shell companies, to launder and transfer investor funds

Brian Simms, 46, of Indiana, was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison and ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution for running a Ponzi-like scheme through Brendanwood Financial Brokerage LLC. Simms misappropriated more than $3.9 million from 20 investors and used some of the funds for personal expenditures. Simms was not licensed to sell securities.

Ricky Southers and Southers Construction of Epping have been sued to prohibit the construction firm from accepting payments in what is alleged to be a Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims out of more than $500,000.

Michael Rabb, Byron Gruber, Jason Bradley Cross, and Eugene Elfrank were accused of running a Ponzi scheme through Texas-based Isotex Health, LLC. The scheme allegedly involved over $6 million through a hemp processing facility in Montana. 

Juan Tacuri, 46, of Florida, pleaded guilty to his role in promoting the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme through Forcount, later than as Weltsys. Forcount promised returns to victims from cryptocurrency trading and mining, but in reality, there was no trading and mining. The scheme brought in $8.4 million, mostly from Spanish-speaking investors. Forcount also began selling proprietary crypto coins known as Mindexcoin.

Nicole J. Walker, 44, was sued by the SEC in connection with a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme run through Woodbridge Wealth. Woodbridge raised funds from more than 8,400 investors nationwide. The CEO, Robert H. Shapiro, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with the Woodbridge scheme.

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

Australia

Marley Wynter was ordered to pay $4.8 million to plaintiffs in a suit relating to a poker sports betting scheme run through Marley’s House of Sport. The affiliated company Marley’s House of Investment is believed to be a Ponzi scheme that marketed itself as a financial investment service specializing in sports betting, horse racing, and “strategic” bankroll management, claiming to have more than 12,000 investors.

Dean Pipcelli, 56, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison for a scheme he ran involving the purchase and sale of timber supplies.

Canada

Usman Asif and his companies, Mughal Asset Management Corp. and Lendle Corp., were permanently banned from the Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal. They were previously found to have operated a scheme that targeted the Pakistani community, promising monthly returns of 2% to 5%. The scheme involved at least $2.76 million.

India

Authorities arrested Sandeep Kumar Yadav who is accused of defrauding about 5,000 investors in a motorcycle taxi scheme known as Maple Innovative Promoters, similar to the Bike Bot scheme.

Authorities raided the premises of the promoters of HighRich Online Group who are accused of running a Rs 1,500 crore Ponzi scheme. The scheme involved trading of cryptocurrency and a crypto coin named HR Crypto Coin, and investors were promised 15% returns per year and 30% referral fees for bringing in new customers. Authorities also searched the premises of also conducted searches at the premises of Highrich Smartech Pvt. Ltd., Highrich Online Shoppe Pvt. Ltd., and related entities.

Elite Forum World was a multi-level investment program which been labeled as a disguised Ponzi scheme. The scheme promoted a “Gift Plan” in which they initial investment was labeled a gift and the distributed to earlier investors.

Authorities seized approximately 37 crore in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme run by Amber Dalal and his company, Ritz Consultancy Services. The scheme raised more than 600 crore from 1,300 investors. Dalal promised returns of 18% to 22% from the supposed investment in funds in commodities.

Kunjathbail Mujib Sayyad was arrested on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme through Max Crypto Trading. The scheme was operated through an Android application called MAX App.

Nigeria

Mariam Suleiman, the chairwoman of Famzhi Interbiz Limited, was jailed for 5 years and the company was ordered to wind up its affairs and all property forfeited to the government.

Authorities sealed the premises of Ready Finance Investors Limited for engaging in an alleged Ponzi scheme.

Philippines

Authorities warned the public that Skyline Crypto and Dry Goods Trading are not authorized to solicit investments.

The SEC revoked the registration of New Seataoo Corp. and Seataoo Information Technology OPC and imposed a P1-million fine.

Thailand

Authorities arrested a Chinese woman identified as Hu, 24, on charges that she ran a Ponzi scheme that caused over 150 million baht in damages.

Turkey

Authorities detained 127 co-conspirators and seized over $31 million in assets in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

Singapore

Alvin Koo Jing You, 38, was arrested on allegations that he was running a Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded more than 24 victims out of more than $8.15 million. Koo was selling investment products through iFast Financial Pte Ltd.

South Africa

Sona Pillay, 54, and Michael Philip Adam Haldane, 55, was arrested in connection with the R2.8 billion BHI Trust Ponzi scheme. Craig Roy Warrine, 60, was previously sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with the scheme. Pillay, the managing director of Rubicon Trust Company, had attempted to flee the country unsuccessfully. The BHI Trust scheme began in 2008 and promised returns exceeding 10%.

Neil Leon De Waal was arrested on charges relating to his recruitment of investors in the GS Partners metaverse fraud case.

Zimbabwe

Zhao Jiatong, a Chinese national, was arrested in connection with the E-Creator Ponzi scheme.

May 2024 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for May 2024. There were at least 11 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month and 4 guilty pleas. Ponzi schemers received more than 70 years of prison sentences. The average age of the fraudsters was about 48 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

Jarod Cervoni, 45, was charged in connection with a Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded investors out of $400,000. He ran the scheme through Square 1 Wellness and Square 1 Performance.

Derek Vincent Chu, 41, of California, was indicted in connection with a $39 million alleged Ponzi scheme. The scheme involved over 100 people and involved investments in the supposed purchase and resale of NBA tickets.

Idin Dalpour, 39, of New York, was indicted on charges that he was running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims out of at least $43 million. Dalpour represented he was investing in a Las Vegas hospitality business and a crypto trading operation. The scheme was run from 2020 through 2024. Dalpour did not invest the money but instead used the money for gambling and tuition for his children, among other things. 

Schlomo Erez, 56, of Israel, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein to run a Ponzi scheme involving $35 million. Four of Erez’s conspirators – Christopher Anderson, 47, Richard Curry, 36, Alaa Hattab, 35, and Joel Wittels, 57 – previously pleaded guilty to the scheme. Weinstein had previously run a scheme through Optimus Investments Inc. and Tryon Management Group LLC that defrauded victims out of $230 million. Weinstein had been sentenced to 24 years in prison but his sentenced was commuted by then President Trump after he had served less than 8 years.

Michael French, 40, of South Carolina, was ordered to pay the SEC nearly $25 million.  French sold high-yield promissory notes under his TikTok handle @moneyjust flows. He promised returns of 12% through low-risk investments.

Rand Heckler, 67, of New York, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison and ordered to pay about $919,999 in connection with a Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims out of $1 million. Heckler solicited funds into a hedge fund of stocks and securities.

David Kagel, 85, of California, pleaded guilty to promoting a $9.5 million Ponzi scheme, Kagel, a disbarred California attorney, operated a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that falsely guaranteed profits and promised to use artificial intelligence trading bots to generate returns. He also misrepresented that he held $11 million worth of Bitcoin in escrow to guarantee the investments against losses. David Gilbert Saffron, 51, of Australia, and Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr., 52, of Los Angeles, were charged in December 2023 for their roles in the same cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme and have both pleaded not guilty.

Joshua Link and Jed Wood, of Texas, were sued by the CFTC in connection with the Agridime LLC cattle scheme that solicited more than $161 million from investors. They represented that investor dollars would be used to buy and sell cattle and promised annual returns of 15% to 20%. Investors thought they were buying a head of live cattle, typically for $2,000, and Agridime was supposed to take care of the actual feeding and caring for the cattle via farmers with whom Agridime partnered, until the cattle was ready to be processed and the beef sold.

John Masanotti, Jr., 69, was charged in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme run through Middlesex Mortgage Group LLC based in Connecticut. The scheme defrauded at least 10 investors out of more than $10 million. Masanotti promised returns of between 10% and 20% annually from investments in foreign currency in the fund known as the Middlesex Fund or the MMG Fund.

Joseph Meli, 42, and Steven Simmons, 48, were charged in connection with a ticket reselling business run through Sideris Capital Partners. They raised $81 million from 125 investors, and $48 million was repaid to earlier investors.

Frank Lynold Mercado, of North Carolina, and his advisory firm, Tiger Wolf Capital, LLC, were charged by the SEC on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 100 investors. They raised more than $1.4 million claiming they were receiving a “50+” return on investments in securities.

Matthew Motil, 42, was charged by the SEC on allegations that he was running an $11 million Ponzi scheme. Motil hosted a podcast called The Cash Flow King and allegedly defrauded 50 investors. Motil also reached a plea deal in connection with a parallel criminal investigation. Matthew Harriton, 52, was also charged by the SEC in connection with the scheme.

Steven Pasko and Jo Wander were sued on allegations that they were running a $600 million fraudulent scheme through 777 Partners. The lawsuit alleges that 777 was double-pledging assets.

Surage Roshan Perera of New York was sentenced to 6½ years in prison and ordered to pay $6.3 million in restitution in connection with a scheme run through Janues Capital Inc. Perera was an investment advisor and represented that he could purchase stock in companies that traded on the NADSAQ and NYSE at discounted prices. He sent fraudulent confirmation notices to his victims. About 15 victims were harmed in the scheme. Perera claimed to exercise a trading strategy called “options straddles” that would not only prevent any trading losses but also, for some of the supposed investments, guaranteed returns on the investment of at least 9% and up to as much as 50%.

Della Fay Perez, of Texas, was arrested on charges that she misappropriated distributions checks from the Robert Allen Stanford receivership. Perez was a neutral third-party responsible for distributing $5.9 billion in restitution to Stanford victims. Approximately 21 checks payable to victims totaling about $460,000 that were deposited into Perez’s IOLTA account never made it to the victims.

Volodimyr Pigida, 49, of Florida, was sentenced to 14 years and 4 months in prison in connection with am $11 million Ponzi scheme. Pigida and his wife, Marina Bondarenko, operated a ‘work-at-home’ email scheme named Trend Sound Promoter. They sold ad-promoting packages and investors were to be paid for email marketing. Pigida failed to show up for his sentencing but was later found hiding behind a false wall in a relative’s house.

Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, both 39, of Estonia, made their initial appearance in their criminal case in Washington following the Estonian government authorizing extradition. Authorities allege that they defrauded hundreds of thousands of victims to purchase contracts in a cryptocurrency mining service called HashFlare. The scheme brought in more than $575 million. The defendants offered contracts under which customers could pay a fee to rent a percentage of HashFlare’s mining operations in exchange for the virtual currency produced by their portion of the operation.

David Gilbert Saffron and his company, Circle Society, were charged by the CFTC in connection with an alleged scheme involving binary options on foreign exchange and cryptocurrency. The scheme allegedly defrauded investors out of $11 million. Saffron guaranteed returns of up to 300%.  

John Sfraga pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a fictitious cryptocurrency scheme. Sfraga promised returns as high as 60% in three months. Investors lost more than $1.3 million. 

John Michael Thibodeaux, 44, of Louisiana, was arrested on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme rather than investing the investors’ money as promised. He paid some victims returns of 10% to 14% per month for about 5 months. 

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

Australia

Jack Alexander Endersby, 24, was charged on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims out of $2 million. 

John Louis Anthony Bigatton pleaded guilty to his role in the Bitconnect Ponzi scheme. Bigatton promoted the scheme on social media, seminars and in face-to-face meetings with investors.

Daniel Ali, the former director of DanFX Trade Pty Ltd., was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to running a fraudulent foreign exchange trading business. 

Canada

David Villanueva aka David Carter, 62, was arrested on allegations that he defrauded investors out of more than $1.4 million. The scheme was run through The Factoring Collective. He was accused of running a fake law firm in one city and pretended to be a psychologist in another.

Aiden Pleterski, 25, and Colin Murphy, 27, were arrested on charges relating to an alleged $30 million cryptocurrency and foreign exchange investment scheme. They ran the scheme through AP Private Equity Limited, and Pleterski only invested 2% and spent at least $16 million buying 10 luxury cars, travel and renting a lakefront mansion. 

England

Jonathan Denton, 64, a lawyer formerly with Locke Lord, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Investors collectively lost around £30 million in the scheme that was run with Simon Oakley.

India

Mohan Kumar Parida, the managing director of Way to Add India Pvt Ltd, was arrested on charges relating toa  scheme in which he promised investors 26% interest per month for 3 months. Investors were also promised a bonus of 2% for enrolling new members. The scheme defrauded 2,000 investors. 

South Africa

Johann Steynberg passed away in Brazil while under house arrest. Steynberg ran a bitcoin scheme through Mirror Trading International.

Craig Warriner, 60, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and was banned from BHI Trust for 30 years on account of his running a Ponzi scheme in which about 2,000 investors lost over R1.2 billion.

Russia

Lilia Nuriyeva was sentenced to 3 years in prison in connection with the Finiko Ponzi scheme. The company’s co-founder, Kirill Doronin, is still awaiting trial. The scheme caused an estimated $1.1 billion in losses. The scheme promised returns from cryptocurrency and stock trading. 

Zimbabwe

Shamiso Fred was arrested on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme through African Business Women Association. Investors were required to pay an agreed amount to fund business projects running for up to 48 months, but ABWA failed to pay out monthly profits.