Robert Miracle of Bellevue and two Malaysian nationals have been charged with running a $65 million Ponzi scheme.

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Bellevue man, two others charged in Ponzi scheme
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)


Robert Miracle of Bellevue and two Malaysian nationals have been charged with running a $65 million Ponzi scheme.

The FBI, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington and state officials allege that Miracle, Mukhtar Kechik and Fahimi Fisal bilked investors out of more than $28 million by promising returns from oil field investments.

The three men were indicted by a grand jury in Seattle Thursday. The government alleges that Miracle took in $65 million from investors and paid out more than $36 million in returns from funds raised from other investors. The remaining $28 million, according to the government, was used to fund a “lavish lifestyle” for Miracle and the others, including diamond rings, Italian paintings and $77,000 weeklong luxury cruises.

Miracle evaded taxes on more than $527,000 of income in 2005, according to the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division.