February 2023 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

Posted by Kathy Bazoian Phelps 

Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for February 2023. This month revealed at least 7 new Ponzi schemes, 2 guilty pleas and over 29 years of new prison sentences. The average age for the alleged Ponzi schemers was approximately 54. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

Eddy Alexandre, 51, pleaded guilty in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme run through EminiFX. The scheme involved a cryptocurrency and forex trading platform that promised investors 5% weekly returns that were supposedly generated through a secretive robo-advising technology. Alexandre has agreed to forfeit $249 million that was obtained from investors.

Gilbert Armenta, 59, was sentenced to 5 years in prison in connection with the Onecoin scheme. Armenta is the former boyfriend of the founder of Onecoin, Ruja Ignatova. Armenta helped launder $300 million from the crypto Ponzi scheme. 

Ray Brewer, 66, pleaded guilty to charges that he ran a Ponzi scheme involving cow manure. Brewer stole $8.7 million in connection with a scheme in which he claimed that he built anaerobic digesters on dairies in California that used microorganisms to break down biodegradable material, and turned it into methane. Brewer represented that he could then sell the gas on the open market. Investors were promised 66% of net profits and tax incentives.

Marcus Todd Brisco, of Hawaii, and his companies Yas Castellum LLC and Yas Castellum Financial LLC, were charged by the CFTC along with Tin Quoc Tran of Texas, Francisco Story of Utah, Fredirick “Ted” Safranko of Canada, Michael Shannon Sims, and SAEG Capital General Management LP. Tran was allegedly operating a fraudulent commodity pool scam that involved over $144 million taken from 913 pool participants with promises of returns from trading foreign exchange or margined or leveraged gold-U.S. dollar pairs. Brisco and his companies allegedly made misrepresentations to at least 43 pool participants through one company and to at least 57 participants through another, and then funneled the money to a Tran-controlled entity.

Ramon Salvador Delgado-Gomez aka Ramon S. Gomez, and his companies FX Latino and FXL Investment PR LLC, along with Walmy Rivera-Santiago and her company JRH Services Inc., and Hector Javier Santos-Pagan and his company Infinity Investment Construction Management Corp. were sued by the CFTC on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme involving more than $27 million. The scheme involved pooled investments in retail foreign currency trading and targeted over 2,000 investors in Puerto Rico and the U.S. 

John K. Eckerd, 58, of Texas, was indicted along with Afif Baltagi, 45, in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme involving the financing of giant tires used on mining and earth-moving vehicles. More than 50 investors were defrauded in the scheme involve $50 million. Eckerd and his co-conspirators represented that they had access to heavily discounted tires that they could sell at full price to buyers and could generate returns of up to 20%. Prosecutors say that almost no tires were actually bought and sold. Eckerd previously pleaded guilty to an unrelated scheme to launder money. Jason E. Adkins, 46, was previously convicted and sentenced in connection with the scheme. Todd Wilkin, 60, was also previously convicted in connection with the scheme.

Amberjit Endow has been accused of running a more than $41 million investment fraud while working at Deloitte in Australia as a partner. The alleged scheme was run through his private company, Endow Family Cap, which is now under investigation. Endow promised investors returns of 39.02% in 6 months from the supposed purchase of Indian government-issued bonds. The bonds were purportedly linked to a large government infrastructure program that is improving India’s rural road network.

Joseph W. Floyd, IV and his brother William F. Floyd Jr., of North Carolina, were sentenced to 5 years in prison in connection with a Ponzi scheme they ran through their family insurance business, Floyd Insurance Agency. They took in more than $20 million through a supposed loan program in which 150 investors were given promissory notes and promised returns and redemptions upon demand.

Ryan Guidry, 45, was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in prison for his role in the DC Solar Ponzi scheme. Guidry became vice president of operations in 2015, and prosecutors alleged that he knew that investors were being defrauded. The scheme was run by Jeff Carpoff, 52, and his wife Paulette Carpoff, 49. DC Solar manufactured solar generator units and claimed there were favorable federal tax benefits from investments in alternative energy, but the company sold more solar generators than they manufactured and falsified documents to conceal the fraud. Jeff Carpoff was sentence to 30 years, Paulette Carpoff was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months, and others have also been sentenced as follows:  Joseph W. Bayliss, 47, was sentenced to 3 years, Robert A. Karman, 45, was sentenced to 6 years, and Alan Hansen was sentenced to 8 years. Robert J. Roach, 55, pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Vladimir Okhotniko aka Lado, Olena Oblamska aka Lola Ferrari, Mikhail Sergeev aka Mike Money aka Gleb aka Gleb Million, and Sergey Maslakov were charged in Oregon on allegations that they stole more than $340 million in connection with a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as Forsage. The four and previously been charged along with 7 others by the SEC in connection with the alleged scheme that was a purportedly decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency investment platform. They used “smart contracts” which are self-executing contracts on the blockchain so that earlier investors would be paid money as soon as an investor would buy a slot in a contract.

Jeffrey Soberman Parket, 59, of New York, pleaded guilty in connection with a $65 million Ponzi scheme that led to over $37 million in victim losses. Parket is a former bond trader and hedge fund founder and admitted to forging and falsifying documents to bring in more than $65 million in loans supposedly for short-terms funding for investment opportunities or to buy real estate. The scheme ran for six years.

Martin Silver, 65, was sentenced to 13 months in connection with a $100 million Ponzi scheme run through International Investment Group LLC. His co-conspirator, David Hu, was previously sentenced to 12 years. The scheme involved over-valuing distressed loans and creating falsified documents and fake loans to hide losses. The company supposedly specialized in global trade financing, providing loans to small and medium-sized businesses in Central and South America using coffee, fish, and other food products as collateral. 

Reva Joyce Stachniw, 71, and Ron Throgmartin, 59, were each sentenced to 6 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $35 million in restitution and forfeitures. They promised 10% to 20% returns and raised $650 million by promising profits from a cattle business and a marijuana business known as Universal Herbs LLC in Colorado. The scheme ran from 2017 through 2019 and was operated along with Mark Ray who pleaded guilty in 2020.

Armen A. Temurian, of California, and Vista Network Technologies were sued by the CFTC on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin. The scheme involved $7 million, and investors were promised returns from trading of digital assets using “robot traders” which did not exist. Investors were promised a 2.5% daily return or “double in just 80 days.”

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

Australia

David Spinina was charged in connection with an alleged $180 million foreign exchange Ponzi scheme run through Courtenay House. Authorities allege that Spinina defrauded at least 585 investors, promising them returns from foreign exchange and futures markets. Tony Iervasi, the mastermind behind the Courtenay House scheme, was found guilty in 2022, and Athan Papoulias pleaded guilty just after that.  

Canada

Colin Murphy, 26, was accused of operating a Ponzi scheme within a Ponzi scheme. Murphy was allegedly working with Aiden Pleterski in connection with a $35 million scheme. Murphy allegedly raised over $850,000 for the cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading company and showed investors his Porsche and Lamborghini as evidence of the returns on the investment. Murphy also stored boxes of cash at his grandfather’s house which he claimed were returns stored for other investors.

Christopher Uitvugt was permanently banned by authorities from working in the securities field or in the investment market. Uitvugt was the CEO of Next Level Investments and ran a foreign exchange scheme that promised 550% returns on a three-month term investment.

India

Jagdish Mishra was convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison in connection with a Ponzi scheme run through Raj Godson Services Private Limited.

Authorities arrested two directors of Hakim & Rustam Fabrics Private Limited on allegations that they defrauded more than 800 investors in connection with a football betting and gaming App.

Philippines

Authorities warned against investing in what is alleged to be Ponzi schemes run through Oyala, which is an unregistered entity not licensed to sell investments to the public. Oyala supposedly invested in retail, education, real estate, banking, telecommunications, water infrastructure, renewable energy, electronics, information technology, automotive, healthcare, management, and business process outsourcing.  The scheme promised 30% in a stable products investment program, 5% in welfare products, and 2% for indirect recommendations.

Authorities warned that Meta Trade is operating as a Ponzi scheme which promised 30% returns after 5 days, 70% after 10 days, and 400% after 30 days.

Authorities warned that BKC Trading is a Ponzi scheme that promises between 12% and 36% returns within three to six months.

South Africa

Dennis Mbongeni Jali, a pastor wanted by the FBI, was arrested in connection with a $28 million scheme run through Forex Billionaires Club. Jali’s co-conspirators, John Frimpong and Arley Johnson, 63, posed as pastors as well, encouraging people to invest in a business that would supposedly help churches and congregants make money. The men ran an investment company called The Smart Partners LLC which operated 1st Million or 1st Million Dollars.

Thailand

Prosecutors indicted 8 people, including Pattanapon Minthakhin and his girlfriend, Suteewan Thaweesin, in connection with the Forex-3D alleged Ponzi scheme. 

January 2023 Ponzi Scheme Roundup

Below is a summary of the activity reported for January 2023.

The start of 2023 saw at least 7 new Ponzi schemes reported worldwide, and at least 7 new criminal sentences were imposed for a total of about 32 years. There was also 1 guilty pleas and 3 criminal convictions. The average age for the alleged Ponzi schemers was approximately 49. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed. 

Gregory Altieri, 55, was ordered to pay $23 million to the SEC in connection with a Ponzi scheme that raised almost $70 million from at least 80 investors, most of whom were firefighters and police officers.  The scheme promised returns ranging from 30% to 100% from a jewelry business. 

Charles Richard Burgess aka Dick Burgess, 67, of Vancouver, was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 32 investors out of $4.3 million. Burgess had pleaded guilty, selling 64 investors $13.6 million in unregistered investments. He took more than the 50% of the pool profits that he represented was his fee, but tried to blame COVID-19 for the loss of funds.

Carl Carro, 62, and James Doyle, 74, were sentenced in connection with a Ponzi scheme run through Endeavor Management Solutions and Endeavor Consultancy. Carro was sentenced to 4 to 8 years and Doyle to 5 years’ probation. They took in over $1,000,000 from more than 50 investors. Endeavor was supposedly a headhunting firm hired by prestigious clients to find candidates for openings on their boards of directors. Carro and Doyle represented that the investor funds would be held in an untouched cash reserve account that held over $1 million, and investors were guaranteed a 10% to 20% return after 30 days. They spent over $500,000 of the funds on personal expenses and to pay returns to earlier investors. 

Yossi Engel, 35, of California, was sued by the SEC on allegations that he ran a $47 million Ponzi scheme through iWitness Tech LLC that targeted Orthodox Jewish community members from December 2018 to January 2021. Engel represented that he needed capital for his business installing security cameras and that investors would receive returns form fees generated by the business. iWitness was never profitable and only ever brought in about $20,000. Engel admitted to running a Ponzi scheme in 2021 and then fled to Israel. Engel spent the funds at casinos, flying on private jets, and funding a lavish lifestyle.

Arley Ray Johnson, 63, of Maryland, was sentenced to 6½ years in prison in connection with a $28 million Ponzi scheme involving 1st Million, a purported wealth management and financial literacy company. Johnson conspired with Dennis Mbongeni Jali, 37, and John Erasmus Frimpong, 42, to defraud investors through several related entities including The Smart Partners LLC, which did business as 1st Million Dollars or 1st Million. The scheme promised monthly returns ranging from 6% to 35%.

Katie Lynn Mancuso, 41, of Tennessee, was sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in prison in connection with a $2.8 million scheme she ran through Gray Area Marketing. Mancuso had falsely represented that her agency had been awarded contracts to perform marketing services for professional athletes and she overstated Gray Area’s assets and receivables. She promised returns within 90 days of 15% to 25%. She solicited funds from at least 26 investors, causing total losses of more than $1.1 million. 

Robert Cortez Marshall, 43, was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison in connection with a Ponzi scheme run through R.B.J. Generational Wealth Management LLC dba Adz on Wheelz. The scheme solicited more than $5 million from more than 200 investors. Marshall represented that Adz on Wheelz owned and operated a fleet of luxury vehicles that could be customized for digital advertising and that the company received millions of dollars in contracts from advertisers. Investors were promised guaranteed weekly returns and told they could cancel anytime and receive a refund of their investment. 

Austin Danger Ellison-Meade, 24, was sued by the SEC on allegations that he defrauded 31 investors out of $2.8 million. Ellison-Meade represented he was using a proprietary trading algorithm that he developed and that he was the managing partner of an investment club and pooled investment vehicle called Baycap.io. The SEC alleges that Ellison-Meade did not use the funds to invest but represented to investors that “this year we have a projection of around 800% returns.” 

Kumar Arun Neppalli, 56, was indicted on 23 charges relating to an alleged Ponzi scheme that targeted the Indian American community in North Carolina. Neppalli, a native of India, allegedly defrauded 15 investors out of $1.9 million in connection with business loans and 12 investors out of $900,000 in a real estate development scheme in North Carolina.

Nestor Nuñez a/k/a Salvador Molina, 64, was arrested in Spain on fraud charges, and Ramon Perez, 40, surrendered in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as Forcount. Last month, criminal charges were brought against Francisley Da Silva, Juan Tacuri, and Antonia Perez Hernandez in connection with the scheme. The scheme was based in Brazil and defrauded Spanish-speaking investors. Perez is accused of laundering proceeds through shell companies and real estate. Nunez is accused of being an actor paid by Da Silva to present himself as Forcount’s CEO using the alias Salvador Molina. Jose Ramiro Coronado Reyes has also already been charged in connection with the scheme.

Judith Dianne Paris-Pinder, 49, of Florida, was sentenced to 4 years in prison in connection with a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 500 people out of $2.4 million. Paris-Pinder was president of Pinder Associations Inc. and took in about $4.6 million from investors under the pretense that she represented litigation plaintiffs who had settled claims and were just awaiting payouts from insurance companies. Paris-Pinder solicited funds from “hard money lenders” to finance payments to the plaintiffs pending payment of the settlement checks, at which time she represented she could pay returns as high as 50%. She previously pleaded guilty and admitted that she did not work with lawyers and that there were no settlement agreements.

Abner Tinoco, 27, of Texas, pleaded guilty to charges relating to his operation of a Ponzi scheme. The scheme brought in about $9 million, and Tinoco spent about half of that on personal expenses including luxury cars, private jets, real estate, and jewelry. Tinoco represented that he would invest their funds in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange markets. The CFTC had previously reported that Tinoco misappropriated over $7.2 million from at least 322 investors.

INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS 

India

MD Nurul Hague, Khagokpam Jogeshwari Devi, and Nongmaithem Sharmila Devi were found guilty of running a Ponzi scheme through MDFI. The mastermind’s father-in-law, Khagokpam Kham ba Singh, and brother-in-law, Khagokpam Naoba Singh, are also under investigation.

Authorities arrested Sanasam Jacky Singh, the managing director of Lamjingba Group of companies, in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme. The scheme allegedly took in more than Rs 580 crore with a promise of exorbitant returns.

Sheikh Sadiq Ali, Yogesh N., Pramod Gopinath, and Sunil Joshi were arrested in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme run through E-Biotorium Network Private Limited that received investment funds from over 1,000 customers. 

Philippines

Authorities issued a warning against investing in Ground Zero Poultry Agricultural Corporation. The SEC warned that the company “is enticing the public to participate in its poultry farm pursuits” and stated that investors could invest P20,000 with 36% returns and up to 80% guaranteed returns for lockup periods of 6 months or 12 months.

The Securities and Exchange Commission shut down Silverloin Livestock Trading Corp. on allegations that it was running a Ponzi scheme. The scheme promised returns of 2.3% per day or 35% after 15 days. Criminal charges were filed in December 2022 against CEO Ryan Cagod Ladoing, Renan Lara Ladoing, Rosemarie Alvarez Guzman, Neña Ewayan Algoy, John Paul Dellara Lopez and Michael Villalobos Berja.

Singapore

Daryl Cai Yonghui, 32, was arrested in Thailand in connection with the Forex-3D Ponzi scheme. The scheme defrauded thousands of investors out of more than $608 million. Dozens have been arrested in connection with the scheme, and Eddy Polgari is still at large. Forex-3D founder Apirak Kothi was arrested a year ago.

Ong Jian Zhen was arrested in Thailand and is wanted in Singapore in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme.

Thailand

Police issued 11 arrest warrants in connection with the dietary supplement company Primaya, including for Pichnaree Tantiwit aka May Primaya, the CEO of Primaya. The charges related to wildly exaggerated advertisements for the investment scheme on TikTok and other social media platforms. The company claimed that investors could earn up to 15 million baht in 3 months from an investment of 6,000 baht.