Tag: Judith Zabalaoui
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SENIOR FRAUD CAVALCADE CONTINUES: Ponzi Schemer, 86, Pleads Guilty; Stephen J. Klos Ripped Off Fellow Senior Citizens, Prosecutors Say
Stephen J. Klos, an 86-year-old church usher who sold elderly congregants in the Seattle area into a $3 million Ponzi scheme that began in 2004, has pleaded guilty to 10 counts of securities fraud, the office of King County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel T. Satterberg said. Klos “met several of victims at his church and told…
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California Man, 72, Sentenced To 110 Months For HYIP Rip-Off; Richard M. Hersch Also Ordered To Pay ‘At Least’ $9.2 Million In Restitution
First, Richard M. Hersch, 72, told investors they’d earn up to 6 percent a week by plowing money into his company, All States ATM Inc. He then explained the company had “contracts” with major horse-racing tracks in California and elsewhere to operate Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) on the “back side†of the tracks. Ordinary horse-racing…
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Senior Citizen Guilty In Michigan Ponzi Scheme; Feds Say Richard Taft Johnson Sold ‘Charitable’ Program To Fellow Seniors, Duping Them Into Ruin
Both state and federal prosecutors in Michigan have been attacking Ponzi schemers and affinity fraudsters. Yesterday the office of Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox charged three men with racketeering for their roles in an alleged time-share Ponzi scheme targeted at senior citizens. In a separate Michigan case, federal prosecutors have announced the guilty plea of…
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LETTER TO READERS: Senior Citizens, The Culture Of Ponzi Schemes — And America’s Longing For A Return To The Age Of ‘Blue Light’ Specials, The Age Of Innocence
Dear Readers, From time to time I publish a post in letter form. This usually happens when a post in story, editorial or essay form does not seem appropriate. This is one of those times. Honestly, just how strange could things get in Ponzi Land? Ponzi Land, which relatively few people outside of law enforcement…
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68-Year-Old Texas Woman Charged In Alleged Ponzi
A 68-year-old Texas woman has been charged with running a $500,000 Ponzi scheme. Julia Ann Schmidt was indicted in Waco. She now joins a roster of other senior citizens recently implicated in alleged Ponzi schemes or convicted of crimes in which a Ponzi was the modus operandi. Federal prosecutors said today that Schmidt posed as…
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Yet Another Senior Citizen Charged In Ponzi Scheme
Is it mere coincidence? Or is “Ponzi scheme operator” so lucrative that people made it a secret career choice years ago and are being outed because of the shrinking economy? Another senior citizen has been charged in a Ponzi scheme, and this time it’s a woman. Judith Zabalaoui, 71, is accused of an elaborate scheme…