Examples of Ponzi Schemes and the SEC’s investigation of those schemes

·         Gaeton “Guy” Della Penna – SEC charged a Sarasota, Fla.-based private fund manager with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme that ensued after he squandered their money on bad investments and personal expenses.

·         Joseph Signore and Paul L. Schumack II – SEC charged the operators of a South Florida-based Ponzi scheme targeting investors through YouTube videos and selling them investments in a product called virtual concierge machines (VCMs) that would purportedly generate guaranteed returns of 300 to 500 percent in four years.

·         Jenny E. Coplan – SEC charged a woman living in South Florida with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud that targeted the local Colombian-American community and involved purported investments in immigration bail bonds.

·         John K. Marcum – SEC charged an Indiana resident who falsely touted himself as a successful trader and asset manager to raise more than $6 million from investors. He squandered the money on personal luxuries and other ventures such as a reality TV show, and continued soliciting money from new investors to pay earlier investors’ redemption requests.

·         Trendon T. Shavers – SEC charged a Texas man and his company with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin.

·         Alvin R. Brown and First Choice Investment – SEC shut down a $3 million Ponzi scheme that targeted seniors, including an elderly investor suffering from a stroke and dementia, by falsely promising high profits from commercial and residential rental properties in California and other Western states.

·         Jim Donnan and Gregory Crabtree – SEC announced fraud charges against a former college football coach who teamed with an Ohio man to conduct an $80 million Ponzi scheme that included other college coaches and former players among its victims.

·         Bridge Premium Finance – SEC announced fraud charges and an emergency asset freeze against a Denver-based company and Colorado residents Michael Turnock and William Sullivan II for carrying out a $15.7 million Ponzi scheme harming more than 120 investors nationwide.

·         Gurudeo “Buddy” Persaud – SEC charged a former broker from Orlando, Fla., who defrauded investors in an astrology-based Ponzi scheme in which his trading strategy was based on his belief that markets are affected by gravitational forces.

·         John Geringer – SEC charges a Northern California-based fund manager with running a $60 million investment fund like a Ponzi scheme and defrauding investors by touting imaginary trading profits instead of reporting the actual trading losses he incurred.

·         David Connolly – SEC charged a New Jersey man with operating a Ponzi-like scheme involving a series of investment vehicles formed for the purported purpose of purchasing and managing rental apartment buildings in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

·         Garfield M. Taylor – SEC charged a Bethesda, Md. man and several family members and friends with conducting a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme targeting investors in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

·         Eric Aronson – SEC halted a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors of approximately $26 million based on promises of rich returns on water-filtering natural stone pavers. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York brought a parallel criminal action against Aronson and others.

·         Doris E. Nelson – SEC charged the owner of a Spokane, Wash.-based payday loan business with conducting a massive Ponzi scheme that raised approximately $135 million from hundreds of investors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington brought a parallel criminal action against Nelson and others.

·         James Davis Risher and Daniel Joseph Sebastian – SEC charged two Florida men with operating a Ponzi scheme disguised as a purported private equity fund that fraudulently raised approximately $22 million from investors, several of whom were Florida teachers or retirees. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida brought a parallel criminal action against Risher.

·         David Ronald Allen – SEC halted a Ponzi scheme perpetrated by the co-founder of China Voice Holding Corp. and two associates that raised at least $8.6 million from investors who were promised returns of at least 25 percent.

·         James Clements and Zeina Smidi – SEC charged two South Florida residents for conducting a $30 million Ponzi scheme in which investors were promised guaranteed monthly returns as high as 11 percent from the trading of foreign currencies.

·         John Scott Clark – SEC halted a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by a Utah resident that raised more than $47 million from at least 120 investors for purported funding of payday loans.

·         Jason Bo-Alan Beckman – SEC obtained an emergency asset freeze against a Minnesota resident and his investment advisory firm in a Ponzi scheme that raised at least $194 million from nearly 1,000 investors in fraudulent offerings related to foreign currency trading. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota brought a parallel criminal action against Beckman and others.

·         Francisco Illarramendi – SEC charged a Connecticut-based investment adviser and its principal for misappropriating investor assets and misusing two hedge funds for Ponzi-like activity. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut brought a parallel criminal action against Illarramendi.