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Tag: Ohio Ponzi schemes

  • First Reports Of Alleged Massive Ponzi Scheme In Greater Cincinnati: ‘Tens If Not Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars,’ Complaint In Hamilton County Says

    From a civil complaint by investors against Glen Galemmo.
    From a civil complaint by investors against Glen Galemmo.

    If the alleged Profitable Sunrise scheme were not bad enough in the Greater Toledo region of Northwest Ohio, there now are reports of a separate massive scheme in the Greater Cincinnati region of Southwest Ohio.

    Investors have gone to court to accuse Glen Galemmo of East Walnut Hills of operating an elaborate scam that may have consumed “tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to a complaint in Hamilton County.

    Galemmo was at the helm of several entities, including Queen City Investment Fund and Galemmo Investment Group, investors said.

    See July 24 story in the Cincinnati Business Courier. The paper today followed up with this story, which reports one the the defendants in the case “was a pastor at a Cincinnati-area church.”

    The IRS is reported to be investigating the Cincinnati case. Details remain sketchy.

    The SEC and Ohio regulators are investigating the Profitable Sunrise case, amid allegations that the scheme traded on faith and was pushed in part by Nancy Jo Frazer and her purported ministries and charitable enterprises in the area of Bryan, Ohio. At least 35 regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada issued Investor Alerts or cease-and-desist orders against Profitable Sunrise, which purportedly was operated by “Roman Novak” through a global network of pitchmen.

  • BULLETIN: Securities Fraudster/Ponzi Schemer Sentenced To 40 Years

    BULLETIN: Jasen M. Snelling — who last month was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison in a federal Ponzi-scheme case brought in Ohio — now has been sentenced in Indiana state court to 40 years.

    The state case was brought after an investigation by the office of Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson. Snelling was accused of selling unregistered securities, theft and using victims’ money as his own. The scam involved entities known as CityFund Advisory and Dunhill Investment.

    “While we are pleased with today’s sentencing, we will continue to aggressively pursue this case in criminal courts, civil courts or administrative proceedings, if necessary, in order to hold all those accountable who contributed to the financial losses and deep sorrow of these victims,” Lawson said in a statement today.

    Snelling, a resident of Cincinnati, was prosecuted in Indiana by Franklin County Prosecutor Mel Wilhelm, Lawson said, adding that Indiana investors lost more than $3 million.

    “This sentencing showcases cooperation between state and local officials,” Lawson said. “Securities fraud is a serious crime and by working together we can root out more fraud and abuse and stop these schemes before investors lose millions.”

    After pleading guilty in June to federal charges, Snelling, 48, was sentenced in October to 131 months and ordered to pay $5.3 million in restitution. The scam created about 72 victims, federal prosecutors said.

    “Consistent with a classic Ponzi scheme, early investors were paid interest or return of capital payments, which were not generated by investment earnings, but rather by monies solicited from later investors,” U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio said at the time. “These payments served to lull the victims into a false sense of security and to prevent or delay the discovery of the fraudulent investment scheme.”

    Snelling compounded matters by engaging in “obstruction” and tax crimes, federal prosecutors said.

    And, they noted, “Snelling was ordered to forfeit a boat, trailer and real estate he owned in Michigan.”

    The IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service handled the federal probe.

  • Affinity-Fraud Victim, 72, Tells Newspaper He ‘Won’t Trust Anybody’ For The Rest Of His Life; Ohio Real-Estate Ponzi Scheme That Spread By Word-Of-Mouth Was Discovered After Suicide Of Church ‘Praise Band’ Member

    UPDATED 9:47 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A 72-year-old man and his 60-year-old wife built up a $400,000 retirement nest egg through hard work over decades at a cosmetics factory — only to see it consumed in a real-estate Ponzi scheme operated by two church members, including one who killed himself when the scheme was unraveling, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Cincinnati.com.

    The story provides some details about other local Ponzi schemes, but focuses on the scheme operated by the late Dave Colwell and his business partner, James “Jamie” Powell. Ninety-one people, including retirees now in their sixties, seventies and eighties, were ensnared in the scam, according to the newspaper.

    Colwell, a member of the church “praise band,” was found slumped over the guardrail of an Indiana causeway. The weapon with which he killed himself was found by police divers in the frigid water below, the newspaper reported.

    “Colwell and Powell employed nearly every one of the most common schemes used to separate investors from their money,” the newspaper reported. “Colwell wasn’t even supposed to be selling securities; he had lost his securities license three years earlier.”

    Powell is in federal prison.

    Read the story at Cincinnati.com.