Securities

Recent Posts

Salvaging Returns For Investors From Ponzi Schemes
Posted on 28 Jun 2012 by Thomas O. Gorman

The goal of enforcement officials is always to arrive at the earliest time to save investor funds from the fraudsters. Despite their best efforts, frequently they arrive after much of the money is gone. Yet often portions can be saved. This is illustrated... Read More

ZeekRewards Victims: What Happens Next
Posted on 24 Aug 2012 by Jordan D. Maglich

"It's a process...We're going to try to gather as much money as we can and figure out who deserves what." Kenneth Bell, Court-appointed Receiver of ZeekRewards The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC")'s shutdown... Read More

Madoff Anniversary: Scam Takes Additional Toll
Posted on 15 Dec 2010 by Mark Zimbelman

Saturday, December 11, 2010 was the two-year anniversary of the day when Bernie Madoff's sons, Mark and Andrew, contacted law enforcement officials to notify them that their father was running the largest Ponzi scheme in history. On this same day... Read More

Soccer Gold Medalist, NFL Players Sue Bank and Investment Advisor For Ponzi Scheme Investment
Posted on 17 Aug 2012 by Jordan D. Maglich

Several prominent athletes, including a newly-minted gold medalist member of the U.S. Olympic Soccer Team, have sued their former financial advisor and his employer, SunTrust Bank ("SunTrust"), alleging that they were unwitting investors in... Read More

Utah Man Pleads Guilty To Running Two Separate Ponzi Schemes
Posted on 23 Apr 2013 by Jordan D. Maglich

A Utah man agreed to plead guilty for his involvement in two separate Ponzi schemes - while on parole for a previous conviction for a third Ponzi scheme - that took in more than $30 million from investors. Wayne Ogden, of Koosharem, Utah, was convicted... Read More

SEC Efforts to Compel SIPC Coverage For Stanford Victims Rejected
Posted on 22 Jul 2014 by Thomas O. Gorman

The D.C. Circuit rejected efforts by the SEC to compel the Securities Investor Protection Corporation to liquidate a broker-dealer that was part of the Stanford Ponzi scheme empire. The investors had purchased CDs from an off-shore Stanford entity. The... Read More

SEC: Utah Man Operated $100 Million Ponzi Scheme
Posted on 29 Jun 2012 by Jordan D. Maglich

A Utah man who conducted real estate seminars across the country was the target of an emergency proceeding initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission that charged him with operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme with hundreds of investors. Wayne... Read More

Judge Rejects "Too Sick For Prison" Defense, Sentences Ponzi Schemer to 41 Months
Posted on 13 Dec 2012 by Jordan D. Maglich

A Connecticut man who scammed victims out of more than $500,000 in a classic Ponzi scheme is not too sick to serve time for his crimes, despite pleading from his attorneys that a sentence of home confinement was more appropriate. United States District... Read More

$157 Million Ponzi Scheme Uncovered in China?
Posted on 7 Jun 2012 by Jordan D. Maglich

Several news outlets are reporting that a Chinese shopping website may have been outed last week as a Ponzi scheme, with the number of victims estimated in the hundreds of thousands and rumors that the founder had skipped town along with senior executives... Read More

California Man Charged With $49 Million Ponzi Scheme
Posted on 6 Nov 2012 by Jordan D. Maglich

Federal authorities arrested a California man of Pakistani descent on charges that he masterminded an investment scheme that raised nearly $50 million from investors. Syed Qaisar Madad, 65, a Pakistani native with Canadian citizenship living in the US... Read More

Grand Juror Indicted After Tipping Off Ponzi Schemer
Posted on 21 Aug 2013 by Jordan D. Maglich

A federal grand juror is facing criminal charges after he allegedly disclosed details regarding the investigation and indictment of a suspected Ponzi schemer to a witness during a chance encounter at a local Costco - which resulted in the witness tipping... Read More

Supreme Court to Decide Whether to Hear Dispute Over Calculation of Madoff Victim Losses
Posted on 25 Jun 2012 by Jordan D. Maglich

The United States Supreme Court will meet last week to decide whether to hear the dispute over the calculation of victim losses stemming from Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme. The court-appointed trustee, Irving Picard, has notched several... Read More

SEC Files Offering Fraud and Ponzi Scheme Cases
Posted on 15 Apr 2015 by Doug Esten

A staple of SEC enforcement in recent years has been offering fraud and Ponzi scheme cases. This week the Commission filed two more of these actions, one an offering fraud targeting military personnel and a second and investment fund fraud case which... Read More

After Two Days of Trial, Florida Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to $10 Million Ponzi Scheme
Posted on 14 Mar 2013 by Jordan D. Maglich

In an unlikely turn of events, a Florida man decided to change his plea from 'not guilty' to 'guilty' on the third day of his trial, effectively ending the trial. George Elia, 69, made his decision after hearing a morning of testimony... Read More

Admitted Ponzi Schemer Claims Innocence, Says Attorney Coerced Him To Plead Guilty
Posted on 30 Oct 2012 by Jordan D. Maglich

After pleading guilty five years ago to masterminding a $29 million Ponzi scheme, a 76-year old Pennsylvania man now wants a federal judge to allow him to stand trial on claims that his now-deceased defense attorney "coerced" him to plead guilty... Read More