By Kathy Bazoian Phelps
Below is a summary of Ponzi scheme activity reported in the news for September 2026. There were at least 11 new Ponzi schemes revealed worldwide this month, 2 guilty pleas, 2 convictions, and more than 55 years of prison sentences. The average age of the fraudsters was about 55 years old. Please feel free to post comments about these or other Ponzi schemes that I may have missed.
Michael Ayala and Wavemark Capital, LLC settled charges with the SEC relating to an alleged $9.6 million Ponzi scheme involving mobile home investments. The scheme defrauded nearly 100 investors, offering securities in the form of promissory notes. Ayala promised guaranteed returns between 12% and 14% through rental payments and mobile home sales.
Michelle Bisnoff, aka Michelle Angeline Silverstein aka Shelly Silverstein, 59, of California, was found guilty on multiple charges relating to her “smart ring” Ponzi scheme run through Esos Ring. She falsely claimed rights on a patent not owned by her and brought in more than $2 million.
Ernest Ossei Boateng, and his two companies, Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC and I Wealth Network LP, of New York, were charged by the SEC on allegations that they ran a $16 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 200 investors. The scheme targeted Christians of Ghanaian heritage and promised guaranteed fixed returns with a low-risk strategy. Instead, he engaged in high-risk speculative day trading leading to $750,000 in trading losses.
Huascar Jose Lopez Castillo and Cash FX Group S.A., of Florida, were charged by the CFTC on allegations that they ran a $950 million foreign exchange Ponzi scheme. The CFTC alleges that Cash FX was directing participants to send bitcoin to wallets on the blockchain. Investors were promised 15% weekly returns.
Paul Thomas Croft, Jonathan David Frost, and Matthew William Dira were charged by the SEC on allegations that they ran a Ponzi scheme through Croft & Frost PLLC that raised approximately $64 million from more than 230 investors. They promised returns in the form of promissory notes and membership interests in limited liability companies that involved hydrogen power and real estate investment opportunities.
Mordechai Ferder, the founder of Lugano Diamonds & Jewelry, was charged by the SEC on allegations that he was running a Ponzi scheme through Lugano and its parent company, Compass Diversified Holdings. The complaint alleges that Ferder made material misrepresentations to investors that he would acquire the diamonds, he would identify a buyer for the diamond, and that he would create a piece of jewelry from the diamond or otherwise try to increase the value of the investment. Ferder never did so, however, and instead made Ponzi-like payments to investors.
George Flanner, 70, of Ohio, and Kristin Holcomb, 69, of Michigan, were indicted on charges relating to a $1.7 million alleged Ponzi scheme run through Made in the Trade Investment Club. Flanner was an investment advisor who solicited elderly clients. More than 19 people invested.
David Thomas Gilchrist, 70, of Texas was arrested on charges alleging that he defrauded investors, used forged notary documents to mislead the SEC, and falsely placed a women at the center of the fictitious business operation and then pressured her to take a vacation for a couple of years to prevent authorities from learning the truth. Gilchrist is an attorney who promised returns from the purchase of tax liens in Texas counties. He received approximately $1.45 million from 20 investors and returned about $789,000 in Ponzi scheme payments. The SEC also filed charges against Gilchrist. Christopher “Aaron” Novinger, a podcaster, was also named in the SEC complaint for allegedly soliciting investors in two of the fraudulent offerings.
Mark D. Hanf, 66, and Hoai-Nam Chu Phan aka Nam Phan, 58, of California, were criminally charged and also charged by the SEC with running a Ponzi scheme through Pacific Private Money Group LLC and two funds, the Pacific Fund and the Freedom Fund. The funds raised approximately $103 million from over 175 investors. They promised investors a preferred or fixed rate of return from low-cost bridge loans to people who were in the process of moving, secured by real estate. They each consented to entry of judgment in the SEC’s case without admitting the allegations.
Barbara A. Hirshfield, 83, of Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to charges relating to a Ponzi scheme run through Ideal Financial Services, Inc. and Ideal Financial Holdings. She promised returns from borrowers’ loan payments in a motor vehicle and small loan business. Hirshfield was generating little to no revenue from lending and was instead relying on money raised from new investors to make promised payments. The scheme resulted in losses of almost $11 million to 204 victims.
Nelson Holdo, of California, was sentenced to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to a scheme that defrauded 32 victims out of over $1.7 million. Holdo ran a Rolex watch and luxury jewelry Ponzi scheme through Mimi et Cie, LLC, LA Gems Private Jewelers, and Brivetti, LLC. He targeted buyers who wanted to purchase high-end Rolex models and luxury jewelry, convincing them to wire the full purchase amount upfront into his business bank accounts, and then offered excuses and reassurances when the watches or jewelry never arrived.
Siddharth Jawahar, 38, was sentenced to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $31.35 in restitution in connection with a Ponzi scheme he ran through Swiftarc Capital LLC. He invested funds in Philip Morris Pakistan which declined in value. Jawahar took in more than $35 million but invested only about $10 million. He also used many other entities in his scheme, including Swiftarc Fund LP, Swiftarc LLC, Swiftarc Holdings, SJ Investment Holdings LLC, Order of Magnitude Ventures LLC, Extra Sensory Perception Inc., Swiftarc Growth Fund LP, Swiftarc Opportunities Fund LP, SJ Investment Holdings LLC, SV Labs SPV 1 LP, Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund GP LLC, SJDB Ventures LLC, Swiftarc Ventures LLC, Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund LP, Swiftarc Telehealth Labs Fund LP, NI Stubbs LLC and Swiftarc Beauty Fund LP. Jawahar is from India and has been living in the U.S. without legal status since 2005.
Brent Kovar, of Nevada, was found guilty on multiple counts relating to a $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme. The scheme defrauded approximately 400 investors and promised fixed annual returns of 15% to 30%, along with a 100% money-back guarantee.
Edwin Emmett “Mike” Lickiss Jr., 79, of California, was sentenced to 9 years in prison in connection with a $9.5 million Ponzi scheme run through Foundation Financial Group. The scheme defrauded more than 93 investors by promising returns of up to 30% from exclusive, tax-free bonds.
Kristopher A. Lunsford, 46, of Nevada, AKL Transport LLC, and Southern Truck Leasing LLC were charged by the SEC on allegations that they ran a $127 million Ponzi scheme by selling fraudulent truck-leasing investments. Approximately 765 investors were defrauded when Lunsford promised a net weekly return of $1,000 per week. Lunsford was also criminally charged, and the complaint alleges that Lunsford used much of the money for purchases of real estate, sports car, jewelry, private charters and expenditures at resorts, casinos and nightclubs.
Christian Montiel-Caleit, 45, of Utah, was sentenced to time served in connection with a Ponzi scheme that collected approximately $1 million from 30 investors. He promised returns from flipping vehicles and real estate. Montiel-Caleit was previously removed from the U.S. in 2006 and had not been granted permission to reenter the country. He pleaded guilty to illegal reentry, and the other charges were dropped.
Stanley Pophal, 65, of Wisconsin, was sentenced to 8 years in prison and ordered to pay $14.25 million in restitution in connection with a Ponzi scheme run through Bright with Silver, Inc. fka Fromm Bros. Inc. that defrauded 190 investors. Pophal used investor funds to buy hundreds of motorcycles, snowmobiles and other vehicles. Pophal solicited funds from investors by promising returns from investments in cryptocurrency, real estate flipping, AI tech options and jewelry.
Francisco Javier Sarabia settled charges brought by the SEC alleging that he raised more than $5 million from more than 350 investors in a Ponzi scheme run through Bonanza Global Solutions LLC. The scheme targeted Spanish-speaking and Filipino investors, promising returns of 10% to 15% per month from stock market trading and other investments in a hedge fund.
Michael Winans Jr., 30, of Michigan, was sentenced to 13 years and 9 months in prison and ordered to pay $4.8 million in restitution in connection with an $8 million Ponzi scheme run through Christian churches. Winans promised investors 100% returns in two months.
INTERNATIONAL PONZI SCHEME NEWS
Canada
Craig Michael Thompson, 49, was criminally charged in connection with a $164 million alleged Ponzi scheme run through Black Box Management Corp and Invader Management Ltd, that targeted more than 1,000 investors. Thompson said he was a “one man investment firm,” and promised returns from day trading. He was previously sanctioned by the Alberta Securities Commission and fined $8.8 million. He was linked to several invoice factoring and investment-related businesses: Intelsense Investment Corp., Invader Management Ltd., and Attebyte Investment Corp.
George Henry Tyrer and For the People FX Inc. were accused by authorities of running an alleged Ponzi scheme that raised $2.6 million from 85 investors. The scheme promised returns from foreign exchange trading.
England
James Gillingham, 38, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison in connection with his £1m Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 60 victims. The scheme guaranteed monthly returns of between 0.5% and 5%.
India
Shrikrishna Chavan, Ankush Parte, Dr Sudesh Mohite, and Subhash Pandere were arrested on allegations that they were running a Ponzi scheme through AI Origin and Digital Origin. The scheme allegedly defrauded nearly 1,000 investors who were promised returns of 7% to 8% per month.
Govind Bhai Patel, 39, and Hiren Mukesh Bhai Shah, 38, were arrested on allegations that they ran a Rs 1,000 crore Ponzi scheme.
New Zealand
Yuko Hanyu was found guilty for her role in East Wind Limited and was sentenced to at least 2 years and 6 months in connection with the $20 million scheme. East Wind marketed financial services and immigration support to New Zealand’s Japanese community. Hanyu managed the finance department and worked with director Masatomo Ashikaga aka Tom Tanaka, to obtain funds from investors on false promises.
Turkey
Emre Tezmen, the chairman of Tera Yatirim Menkul Degerler AS, and board members Erkan Kilimci, Kerem Alkin and Emre Alkin, along with Alper Öztürk and Serdar Turhan were arrested on allegations that they ran the brokerage as a Ponzi scheme with 131 funds with a value of $18.3 billion. Two of the funds are Tera Portföy and Pusula Portföy. More than 455,000 investors were defrauded.
Authorities froze the assets of Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya and her husband Ilyas Kaya on allegations that they were engaged in a Ponzi-like scheme. Kaya is a former minister and top ruling party official.
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