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Tag: Terrence Berg

  • Senior Citizen Guilty In Michigan Ponzi Scheme; Feds Say Richard Taft Johnson Sold ‘Charitable’ Program To Fellow Seniors, Duping Them Into Ruin

    U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg
    U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg

    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 Richard Taft Johnson, 67, of Orchard Lake. Johnson is a member of an ever-lengthening list of senior citizens implicated in Ponzi schemes. The list includes names such as Bernard Madoff, 71, (New York/Florida); Richard Piccoli, 83, (New York); Andy Bowdoin, 75, (Florida); Julia Ann Schmidt, 68, (Texas); Judith Zabalaoui, 71, (Louisiana); Arthur Nadel, 77, (Florida/NewYork); Ronald Keith Owens, 73, (Texas); James Blackman Roberts, 71, (Arkansas); and Larry Atkins, 65, (North Dakota).

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    Johnson pleaded guilty to mail fraud for devising a Ponzi scheme known as the “American Charitable Program,” which led investors to believe “investments would benefit
    charitable organizations such as universities or other educational institutions,” prosecutors said.

    But the purported charitable program was a fraud that promised returns of 10 percent per quarter — and the fraud was magnified by bogus “periodic statements showing the purported increasing value of their investment accounts,” prosecutors said.

    “This was an insidious Ponzi scheme because investors were told it was a safe, secure investment that would ultimately help charities,” said U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg of the Eastern District of Michigan.

    “Like most Ponzi schemes, it went undetected for a number of years, allowing some investors to reap a profit on their investments, and encouraging others to invest,” Berg said.

    He added that Ponzi perpetrators often recruit others to spread the word about exciting investment programs, which later prove to be Ponzi schemes that cause embarrassment and ill-will among family and friends.

    “It can be very disturbing for a victim to discover that he has innocently caused friends or relatives financial ruin,” Berg said. “In the end, a number of the [Johnson] investors, some quite elderly, lost everything because their monies were used to keep the scheme going until the inevitable collapse.”

    The Johnson probe is ongoing, despite the plea. “In the course of this investigation, we will be attempting to help ascertain what, if anything, the victims’ might be able to salvage of their financial worth,” Berg said.

    Assisting in the probe are the FBI, the State of Michigan Office of Financial Insurance Regulation and the State of Florida Division of Insurance Fraud. Berg said the agencies have “worked very hard to investigate and compile the information about Mr. Johnson’s fraudulent activities.”

    Johnson faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He conducted business in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., as Investor Planning Services.

    “As in all Ponzi schemes, Mr. Johnson would pay out earlier investors, or investors who demanded a return of their money, with newer investors’ monies,” prosecutors said. “But he also diverted significant funds to his personal use.”

    The Johnson scheme began to collapse in 2008.

  • Raymond Frank Joseph Convicted On All 36 Counts In Michigan Ponzi Scheme; Federal Judge Revokes Bond

    ponziblotterFederal prosecutors have scored another dramatic win in a Ponzi scheme case.

    Raymond Frank Joseph, 55, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., was convicted of three counts of wire fraud, nine counts of interstate transportation of stolen money or property and 24 counts of conducting monetary transactions in criminally derived property.

    Judge Gerald E. Rosen immediately revoked Joseph’s bond after a federal jury returned guilty verdicts on all 36 counts. Joseph was ordered detained, pending sentencing next year.

    “Investors or lenders should be wary of unreasonably high promises of massive profits,” said U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg of the Eastern District of Michigan. “Ponzi schemes prey on the expectations of big returns, and use the next person’s money to pay previous investors. In this case, the jury saw through the defendant’s fraudulent scheme.”

    Prosecutors said Joseph fleeced $5 million in the scheme.

    “Joseph solicited loans of money from several individuals to invest in a number of business ventures,” prosecutors said. “To induce the lenders to give him their money, Joseph fraudulently promised the victims a specific date of repayment with interest resulting from his claimed business investment of the money.”

    But Joseph did not invest the the money, prosecutors said. Instead, he used it to make payments to earlier investors and to pay his personal expenses such as credit card bills, household expenditures and vehicle costs.

    A veteran IRS criminal investigator said investors have a duty to be cautious.

    “Although the economics of Ponzi schemes are simple, today’s swindlers artfully conceal their greed with sophisticated marketing and numerous misrepresentations,” said Maurice Aouate, special-agent-in-charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.

    “Beware, for if is sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Aouate said.

    The FBI also had a leading role in the Joseph probe.

    “Investors generally understand that there’s a correlation between risk and reward, and Ponzi scheme cases like this one reinforce the fact that investing money is inherently risky,” said Andrew Arena, FBI special-agent-in-charge.

    “Before handing hard-earned money to investors, individuals should know who they are dealing with and how their money will be invested,” Arena said. “In light of recent large scale Ponzi schemes, public awareness is at the forefront. The FBI and its partners will aggressively investigate people who swindle money from others, whether it involves hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.”

    Joseph potentially faces decades in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March.