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Category: Alleged Ponzi Schemes

BULLETIN: Beau Diamond Found Guilty On All 18 Counts In Florida-Based Forex Scheme; Office Of U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton Is Tackling A Number Of HYIP Schemes

BULLETIN: Beau Diamond, the Florida man accused of fleecing investors out of millions of dollars in a Forex Ponzi scheme, has been found guilty of all 18 counts against him. Diamond, 32, was the operator of Diamond Ventures LLC of Sarasota. He was arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriffâ€™s Office in September 2009, after a…

Jul 21, 2010
BULLETIN: Another ‘False Liens’ Case Alleged; Feds Charge Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao With Targeting Federal Judges, SEC, IRS, Secret Service And Prosecutors In Paperwork Scheme

BULLETIN: Yet-another bizarre paperwork attack on U.S. law enforcement has occurred. A California man has been charged with filing “false liens” in Nevada against federal officials and employees of the SEC, the Secret Service, the IRS, four federal judges and staff members of the U.S. Attorneyâ€™s Office for the Southern District of California, federal prosecutors…

Jul 21, 2010
MYTH-SHATTERING CASE: Local Prosecutors Extradite Ronald Paul Shade From Thailand To Face Real-Estate Ponzi Charges; Shade Also Accused Of ‘Financial Elder Abuse’

EDITOR’S NOTE: The PP Blog has covered a number of stories in which U.S. residents living overseas were extradited to the United States to face Ponzi charges. The case against Ronald Paul Shade is another one — and it’s one that demonstrates that an extradition can occur even if a defendant is not charged with…

Jul 21, 2010
SCAMMER’S GAMBLE BACKFIRES: Fraudster Who Chilled Customer With Lawsuit Threat Pleads Guilty To Mail Fraud; Philip Pestrichello Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison After Plea In ‘Work-At-Home’ Caper

UPDATED 4:51 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A convicted felon who emerged from prison and almost immediately launched a $1 million fraud scheme known as PPSN threatened to prosecute and sue a consumer who had filed an online complaint, federal prosecutors said. Although the threat caused the consumer to withdraw the complaint against Philip Pestrichello, Pestrichello’s bid…

Jul 19, 2010
CNN Covers Trevor Cook Ponzi: Strippers, Hookers, ‘Ladies Of The Evening’ And ‘Booze Runs’; ‘We Never Have Any Risk,’ Acknowledged Schemer Says

He wore a suit by day, persuading prospects he was buying commodities at a lower price and selling them at a higher price so quickly that there was no exposure to loss. Many of Trevor Cook’s investors identify themselves as Christians. His $190 million Ponzi scheme was centered in Minneapolis/St. Paul, a U.S. heartland region…

Jul 18, 2010
REMEMBER PRAEBIUS? Penny-Stock Firm ASD Claimed Would Pump $200 Million Into Its Coffers Was Flogged By California Man In ‘Fraudulent Touting’ Scheme During Month ASD Announced ‘Joint Advertising Venture,’ Records Show

A California man and his company have been accused by the SEC of running a “Fraudulent Touting” scheme that pumped the penny stock of Praebius Communications, a company the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme once claimed would generate $200 million for its coffers through a joint “advertising” venture. Charged by the SEC with fraud were Songkram…

Jul 16, 2010
GO FINRA! Regulator Tackles Online HYIPs; Issues Warning On ‘Social Media-Linked Ponzi Schemes’; References P2P, Genius Funds, ‘Con Artists’ And ‘Bizarre Substratum’ Of Internet

EDITOR’S NOTE: It has become increasingly clear that regulators and the law-enforcement community are rallying around a common theme that web-based promoters are using discussion forums and social-networking sites in bids to sanitize HYIP Ponzi schemes by positioning them as attractive investment opportunities and even a thrilling form of gambling that pays commissions. Today the…

Jul 15, 2010
BULLETIN: Charges Upgraded Against Nevin Shapiro In Alleged $880 Million Ponzi Scheme; Prosecutors Say He Used Investors’ Money To Make Illegal Sports Bets And Enjoy Lavish Lifestyle

Charges against a Florida man accused of running a Ponzi scheme through a bogus wholesale grocery business known as Capitol Investments USA Inc. have been upgraded, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey said. Nevin J. Shapiro, 41, of Miami Beach, originally was charged via criminal complaint in April with one…

Jul 14, 2010
BULLETIN: Trevor Cook To Be Given Lie-Detector Test; Sentencing In $190 Million Ponzi Case May Be Delayed

BULLETIN: The FBI will administer a lie-detector test to Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook. Meanwhile, his July 26 sentencing date may be delayed, a source told the PP Blog. The date upon which the test will be administered was not immediately clear. The source, however, suggested that Cook could be subjected to the polygraph as early…

Jul 12, 2010
WANTED: Feds Ask For Assist In Locating Accused Pyramid Schemer Jason P. Unangst; Missing Indictee Listed As ‘Fugitive’ After Hatching Plot To Sell Mobile Homes To Hurricane Victims

A Pittsburgh-area man indicted in June 2009 is now listed as a fugitive in a pyramid-scheme and money-laundering case, federal prosecutors said. Jason P. Unangst, 34, formerly lived in the Pittsburgh suburbs of McCandless Township and Wexford. His last verifiable address was listed as Virginia Beach, Va., prosecutors said. He was indicted on charges of…

Jul 8, 2010
UPDATE: Delaware AG Beau Biden Says Credit USA Pyramid Scheme Cost Two State Residents More Than $100,000; Victims Asked To Contact Prosecutors

The alleged Credit USA Inc. multilevel-marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme cost two Delaware residents more than $100,000, Attorney General Beau Biden said. Biden has asked other potential victims to contact his Investor Protection Unit at 302-577-8424. A state indictment announced two days ago charged Terrel Alexander, 41, Nicole Alexander, 41, and William Love III, 39, with…

Jul 8, 2010