Posted by Kathy Bazoian Phelps
Below is a summary of the activity reported for April 2022. The reported stories reflect at least 8 new Ponzi schemes worldwide, 3 guilty pleas, more than 39 years of prison sentences, and an average age of approximately 49 for the alleged Ponzi schemers. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed.
Matthew Beasley, 49, was accused by the SEC of running an alleged $449,000 Ponzi scheme that operated in Nevada, Utah, and California that defrauded over 600 investors. Beasley confessed to running a Ponzi scheme after he was shot by an FBI agent who had come to his house to investigate and was shot at himself. Investors were told that their money would be used to make advance payments to plaintiffs who had settled tort claims and were willing to pay a premium to be paid on the settlements in advance. Investors were promised returns of 50% or more. Beasley admitted that he did not have relationships with settlement plaintiffs and that he used the investor funds to pay off gambling debts and for luxury items. Jeffrey Judd, the main promoter of the scheme, was also named in the SEC suit. The entities charged with fraud in this action are J&J Consulting Services, Inc. (Nevada), J&J Consulting Services Inc. (Alaska), J and J Purchasing LLC, Beasley Law Group PC, PAJ Consulting Inc, BJ Holdings LLC, Stirling Consulting L.L.C., CJ Investments, LLC, Rocking Horse Properties LLC, Triple Threat Basketball, LLC, ACAC LLC, Anthony Michael Alberto, Jr., and Monty Crew LLC. Other individuals charged with acting as unregistered brokers are Humphries, Shane Jager, Jason Jongeward, Denny Seybert, and Roland Tanner.
Vania May Bell, 57, pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme with her father, Hector May, through Executive Compensation Planners. Hector May was sentenced to 13 years in prison and ordered to pay $8 million in restitution.
David Joseph Bunevacz, 53, Mary Hayca Bunevacz, of California, and CaesarBrutus LLC, Brutuz California Ventures Corp., and CB Holding Group Corp., were charged by the SEC with running a cannabidiol oil vape Ponzi scheme. The SEC alleges that the scheme raised over $35 million from at least 40 investors who were promised returns from the production and sale of cannabis products, including vape pens.
Shawn E. Good, 55, of North Carolina, was charged by the SEC on allegations that he ran a $4.8 million Ponzi scheme defrauding clients in his position as a Morgan Stanley financial advisor. Good is no longer employed with the firm. Good allegedly had his clients transfer money to his personal bank account so he could make investments in real estate development projects and government bonds on their behalf and promised them returns of 6% to 10%.
Marlin Hershey, 52, and Dana Bradley, 52, were charged on allegations that they were running a $4 million Ponzi scheme through Performance Holdings.
David Hu, 64, of New Jersey, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in connection with a Ponzi-like scheme run through International Investment Group that involved more than $120 million. Hu had previously pleaded guilty to the scheme that involved the selling of over-valued and fake loans and falsified documents to deceive auditors and investors. Hu ran the scheme with co-conspirator, Martin Silver, who also previously pleaded guilty. They operated three private funds known as the IIG Trade Opportunities Fund N.V., the IIG Global Trade Finance Fund, Ltd., and the IIG Structured Trade Finance Fund, Ltd.
Robert A. Karmann, 55, was sentenced to 6 years in prison and was ordered to pay $624 million in restitution for his role as the chief financial officer in the $1 billion Ponzi scheme run through DC Solar. DC Solar defrauded investors by promising returns from trailer-mounted solar generators. DC Solar’s owner, Jeff Carpoff, was sentenced last November to 30 years in prison. Carpoff’s wife, Paulette Carpoff, pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced next month. Joseph W. Bayliss was sentenced to 3 years in prison, and other defendants have pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing: Alan Hansen, 50, Ronald J. Roach, 54, and Ryan Guidry, 44.
John Law, 43, of New York, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution. Law previously pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a $115 million Ponzi scheme run by “King Perry” Santillo and Christopher Parris through Lucian Development that resulted in more than $70 million in losses. Santillo and Law sold securities to the public through various businesses including Advice and Life Group, Poconos Investments, First American Securities, and Financial Planners Group of America. Santillo was sentenced to 17 years in prison and Parris was also convicted but has yet to be sentenced.
Scott Merke and Eric Alexander of Florida have been sued by the SEC in connection with the $322 million fraudulent scheme run by 1 Global Capital LLC.
Casper Mikkelsen has been permanently banned by the CFTC from trading commodity interest in connection with a foreign exchange fraudulent scheme that purportedly paid forex trading profits to clients. The CFTC has coordinated with foreign regulators in Denmark on this case.
Robert T. Nicholas, 48, was indicted in connection with an alleged $150,000 Ponzi scheme. Nicholas defrauded his clients as an insurance agent.
Charles Ochi, 27, of Texas, and Danielle Liggins, 32, or Arkansas, were arrested on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme using sham companies to transmit proceeds to Nigeria. They used Global Prime and Liggins Starflexx Commercial to receive money from investors.
Austin Delano Page, 26, and Brandon Alexander Teague, 26, of North Carolina pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme run through D&T Investment that took in $4.2 million from over 300 people. They represented that they were running a hedge fund that invested in securities, but there was no hedge fund and they did not hold any securities. They guaranteed 100% of the initial investment and promised 70% profits from trading.
Richard Dow Rockwell, of California, and Dow Rockwell LLC were charged by the SEC for undisclosed conflicts of interest related to a real estate Ponzi scheme run through Professional Financial Investors, Inc. Rockwell and his company raised approximately $8 million for the scheme and earned approximately $400,000 in referral fees, which they failed to disclose to their clients.
William Stenger, 73, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution for his role in the Jay Peak EB-5 Ponzi scheme. Stenger pleaded guilty last year to submitting false information to the government. He raised more than $80 million from over 160 foreign investors through the EB-5 visa program, but the project known as AnC Bio VT failed, and Stenger and Jay Peak’s owner, Ariel Quiros, were accused of running a Ponzi scheme. Bill Kelly was also charged in connection with the scheme.
Junzo Suzuki, 73, and his son, Paul Suzuki, 43, were sentenced to 5 years in prison in connection with the Ponzi scheme run through MRI International Inc. out of Las Vegas. The two ran the scheme with Edwin Fujinaga, 75, who is serving a 50-year prison sentence. The scheme involved $1.5 billion and 10,000 investors, most of whom were Japanese.
Abner Alejandro Tinoco and his company, Kikit & Mess Investments, LLC, were the subject of a consent order obtained by the CFTC. They had been charged by the CFTC and fraudulently solicited over $7.2 million from 322 clients. The clients had given their money to be managed in customized client portfolios for foreign exchange and crypto trading. Most of the money was instead used to pay Tinoco’s personal expenses such as chartering a private jet, renting a luxury mansion and cars, and buying real estate.
INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS
Brazil
Authorities are searching for the creators of Alpha Consultoria, Sadraqui de Freitas and Nathan Assis de Oliveira, who they believe defrauded more than 2,000 people on promises of 30% returns per month on investments in cryptocurrencies.
Canada
Mark E. Cohen, 42, was arrested in connection with an alleged $12 million pandemic-related Ponzi scheme. The scheme promised 13% from the supposed purchase and resale of used vehicles from rental companies.
England
Andrew Fuller aka James Wellesley, 55, and Stephen Burton, 57, are accused of defrauding wine collectors in a £76 million ($99 million) Ponzi scheme. They offered investors large returns on loans that were supposedly collateralized by valuable bottles of fine wines. The scheme was run through Bordeaux Cellars London and Hong Kong-based Bordeaux Cellars.
Kenya
Authorities report that Bitstream Circle is targeting investors in a Ponzi scheme across seven countries. The cryptocurrency scheme has targeting 11,000 people and promises returns between 5% and 8% on daily investments.
Lagos
Chinyere Emeka-Atu was accused of running a Ponzi scheme through her company, Family Food Support Association, that defrauded investors out of N600m.
Nigeria
The mother of Ovaioza Yunusa was arrested in connection with an alleged fraudulent scheme run through Ovaioza Farm Goods Storage Business. The scheme promised investors 70% to 80% returns and supposedly involved the buying, selling, and storage of certain commodities.
Philippines
ScentokoWorld Corp. and Brendahl Cruz Holdings had their corporate registration revoked by the SEC due to illegal solicitations from the public. The companies are both affiliated with Brendahl Cruz, the president and CEO and were promising investors 400% returns within 30 days from the purchase of perfume and beauty product packages.
Singapore
Authorities arrested a 29-year old man in connection with an alleged Ponzi-like scam run through Moviitech, a job platform. Job seekers received unsolicited messages on Telegram, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, promoting a money-making opportunity through watching move trailers. People were promised payment from watching movie trailers and more money for recruiting more people. They were required to purchase a membership plan before they started earning commissions, but stopped receiving commissions and were unable to withdraw from their member accounts.
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