By Kathy Bazoian Phelps
Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported for August 2025. There were at least 8 new Ponzi schemes revealed this month, 6 guilty pleas, and 113 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.
Eddy Alexandre was found liable to pay restitution of approximately $228.5 million and disgorgement of over $15 million in connection with the Ponzi scheme run through EminiFX. The court ruled that Alexandre’s assertion that he should not be held liable in the CFTC’s case following his guilty plea in his criminal case was “ludicrous.” The scheme defrauded over 25,000 people out of more than $248 million. He promised “guaranteed” weekly returns of 5% to 9.99% through automated crypto and forex trading using a purported "trade secret" technology he called "Robo-Advisor Assisted Account (RA3).”
Samuel Ayala-Ibarra, 45, of Texas, pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme through JASTBIME, a cryptocurrency scheme that promised profits to investors. He created fictitious documents to show growth and returns from the investment.
Efrain Betancourt, Jr., 36, was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in prison in connection with a $66 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 600 investors. He ran the scheme through Sky Group USA, LLC, which was a payday loan business. He sold promissory notes to investors to raise money from the business but used the money to pay commissions to sales agents and to fund a luxurious wedding in France.
Nicholas Bonneville, 25, was sentenced to 3 years and one month in prison and ordered to pay approximately $575,000 in restitution in connection with a Ponzi scheme involving foreign exchange trading. He claimed he could turn an investment of $50,000 into $1 million in less than a year.
Lourdes Rosales Banegas, 43, and Ramon Concepcion, 43, were charged in connection with an alleged scheme known as LNJ Funds. Authorities allege that the scheme defrauded over 100 victims out of at least $1,000,000. Banegas and Concepcion promised a guaranteed rate of return of 20% every sixty days, without risk of losing the principal investment. They supposedly invested money in student loans backed by the federal government. Banegas sent money to bank accounts in Columbia, and they both spent money on personal expenses.
David Raymond Brown fka David Brown Levy and David Addison Brown, 39, of California, was indicted on charges relating to an alleged $12 million “Ponzi-like” scheme that defrauded investors in his film production business. Brown is a Hollywood producer who claimed he was using the money to work on films but instead spent it on expensive cars and houses. He also caused his film production company to make payments to Hollywood Covid Testing LLC.
Consuelo Carrasco-Ramirez aka Consuelo Zeferina, 53, of California, was arrested on allegations that she was running an avocado Ponzi scheme that defrauded seven people out of $200,000. She targeted members of the Hispanic community.
Brian Davison, the former CEO of Equi-Alt, was sentenced to three years after he pleaded guilty to tax fraud in connection with a $170 million Ponzi scheme. Davison was also ordered to pay $6.3 million in restitution to the IRS. Davison ran the scheme with Barry Rybicki, which raised more than $170 million from over 1,100 investors.
Michael J. French, 42, of South Carolina, was sentenced to 13 years in prison in connection with a Ponzi scheme run through MJF Holdings, LLC and MJF Capital LLC. He promised annual returns of 12% from loans to small businesses.
Barbara Hirshfield, of Massachusetts, was charged in connection with an alleged $7 million Ponzi scheme she ran through Ideal Financial Services Inc. and Ideal Financial Holdings, Inc. The family business involved financing motor vehicles and selling investment notes. Ideal Financial raised over $7.6 million from over 180 investors.
James Johnson, 77, and Darrell Niswonger, 68, of Missouri, each pleaded guilty to running a scheme that offered investments in municipal bonds through Johnson & Niswonger Financial Resources LLC. The scheme ran for almost 20 years, originally offering annuities. When they ran into cash flow problems, they offered “tax free” and “risk-free” municipal bonds, promising a guaranteed 5% return. They owe investors more than $3 million.
John Lopez, 74, of Arizona, was sentenced in a proceeding in New Mexico to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay approximately $24 million in forfeiture following his conviction for running a Ponzi scheme through Personal Money Management Company (PMMCO). Lopez claimed to have a proprietary algorithm that generated above-market returns. He defrauded more than 100 victims by guaranteeing returns from 10% to 42% from investments in stocks and bonds. He used the funds to buy precious metals and to make payments to victims.
Miles Burton Marshall, 73, of New York, was indicted in connection with an alleged $95 million Ponzi scheme. Marshall prepared taxes and sold insurance, but he also solicited money for the “8% Fund” that guaranteed annual interest from the financial markets. The scheme defrauded approximately 1,000 victims.
Kenneth W. Mattson, 63, of California, was arrested on charges relating to a 15-year alleged Ponzi scheme. Mattson allegedly defrauded victims out of nearly $30 million in a real estate scheme involving limited partnerships that owned and managed commercial and residential properties.
Andrew H. Middlebrooks, 33, was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months following his guilty plea to charges relating to a $39 million scheme run through EIA All Weather Alpha Fund 1 Partners. Middlebrooks represented that he could exploit “inefficiencies” in global equity markets and claimed a track record of 476.81% returns. The scheme resulted in losses to 97 investors in excess of $94 million.
Russell Miller Jr., 37, was added to the SEC action against Christopher Aubin, his girlfriend, Ashley Corcoran, and their company Anchor State Capital LLC fka Anchor State Investments LLC and Anchor State Properties LLC. Miller and his company, Miller Property Group LLC, received funds from Aubin and Anchor State for no consideration. The SEC has alleged that they raised at least $2.5 million from at least 24 investors.
Ga-ram “Andy” Park was accused of operating a Ponzi scheme through a cryptocurrency trading company, Vehicle Mining Systems USA. Park promised high returns from bitcoin and Ethereum mining. Park targeted elderly Korean Americans, and investors lost over $10 million.
Paxos Trust Company LLC entered into a consent order with authorities in New York and agreed to pay a $26.5 million fine and to invest $22 million to improve its compliance program. The order relates to Paxos’ role in handling transactions for the Ponzi scheme run through Binance Holdings Ltd that involved $1.6 billion in transactions. Paxos was found to have insufficient controls in place to monitor the transactions or escalate concerns that were flagged.
Sergei Potapenko, 40, and Ivan Turõgin, 40 Estonian nationals, were sentenced to time already served, 16 months, in connection with a scheme run through HashFlare, a purposed cryptocurrency mining service. They sold more than $577 million of investments. The sentences incorporate forfeiture of cryptocurrency, funds, vehicles, real property, and cryptocurrency mining equipment valued at more than $450 million. Of the 440,000 customers, 390,000 of them withdrew $2.3 billion on their $487 million of investments.
William Lamar Rhew, III, 39, was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months, in connection with a $20 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 117 investors out of at least $24 million. The scheme was run through Chadley Capital, LLC, which purportedly bought accounts receivable at a discount and sold them for a profit. Rhew offered consistent returns in excess of 20% per year and nearly 74% growth in two years.
Mina Tadrus, of Florida, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison and ordered to pay $4.2 million in restitution in connection with a $5.7 million Ponzi scheme promising 30% returns. The scheme was run through Tadrus Capital and offered “recession-proof” guaranteed annual returns from cutting-edge artificial intelligence and high-frequency trading. Tadrus targeted investors in the Egyptian American Coptic Christian community. The scheme defrauded at least 31 investors, and authorities allege that less than 1% of the money was ever invested.
Ryan Wear, 49, was charged in connection with an alleged $200 million Ponzi scheme run through Water Station Management LLC and Creative Technologies, Inc. Wear sold investors water vending machines that in many cases did not exist and paid promised returns from new investor money. Jordan Chirico, 41, was also charged in connection with the scheme for his role in defrauding 3|5|2 Capital ABS Master Fund LP by causing the fund to invest almost $100 million in the scheme while concealing his own personal financial stake in Water Station.
INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS
Australia
Ashley Vincent Arandez pleaded guilty to charges relating to a scheme that defrauded investors of at least $1.97 million in connection with his financial services business.
Brazil
G44 Brasil SCP was found to be running a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The scheme promised returns from investments in precious stones, technology, and virtual currency mining.
Canada
Glenda Marie Esteves was sentenced to 4 years in prison and fined $610,000 in connection with a scheme involving lipstick. Esteves purported to be making and selling lipstick through her company, Mac Glamour Inc., but she was actually not producing any lipstick. The scheme targeted the Filipino community.
Craig Michael Thompson, 47, was ordered to pay $8.8 million in penalties in connection with a scheme run through Black Box Management Corp. and Invader Management Ltd. The scheme defrauded 1,000 investors.
England
Daniel Pugh, 35, was found guilty and fined £1.3m in connection with a scheme run through Imperial Investment Fund. He took money from 238 investors and offered returns of 1.4% per day, 7% per week, or 350% per year. He targeted his victims through Facebook.
New Zealand
Thomas Alexander Kokouri Tuira and his wife, Aroha Awhinanui Tuira, pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme. The scheme was run through Ngākau Aroha Investments Ltd and Power To Me Aotearoa Tapui Ltd. They ran the scheme for four years, and it involved $3.9 million and defrauded more than 60 investors. They promised 15% returns in 6 months and claimed to have a connection to NBA legend Michael Jordan. They leveraged their religious connections and gave financial literacy seminars to lure in investors.
South Africa
Colin Davids, 58, and Derek Bredekamp, 59, were each sentenced to 9 years in prison for their roles in the Platinum Forex scheme. They promised investors returns of 2% to 8% per month and guaranteed the return of the principal investment.
Zimbabwe
Shepard Chibaya, 36, has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates and is facing charges relating to the alleged scheme run through Beven Capital. Authorities alleged that Beven promised 50% returns in six weeks.
