You're a Bad Man Charlie Brown Charles Thomas Brown, age 66, DBA Preferred Trust Company, was sentenced to 17 ½ years for operating a $23,000,000 ponzi scheme that involved over 300 victims. He ple

The Securities and Exchange Commission defines affinity fraud as "investment scams that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly or professional g

Somewhat of a Gamble Prosecutors said the Bennett Funding Group enticed people in 46 states to invest in office equipment leases that did not exist, swindling more than 22,000 investors out of $700

Food For Thought CNC was a ponzi scheme where salespeople sold investment "contracts" for approximately $25,000 each and then supposedly used the money to make monthly food products purchases for s

It Looked Good on Paper Elliott Enterprises lost millions of dollars each year for seven years. Nevertheless, they retained their current investors and attracted new ones by making false claims reg

Greater Ministry International The Internet missionary church Greater Ministries International Church GMI took in over $550 million dollars from over 27,000 believers and although it promised great

What Went Wrong? Starting out as a legitimate enterprise, the Hill Williams Income Funds were set up as a means of raising capital for real estate development. Over four years, the owner establishe

Time is as Precious as Gold In November 2004, an Etowah, Tennessee woman was ordered to pay $4.8 million in restitution and serve six years in federal prison following a guilty plea in U.S. Distric

Examples of Ponzi Scheme Fraudulent Investments Party On Lake States Inc., which was a commodity fund ponzi, took 400 investors for $60 million. The promoters hosted lavish parties where inves

A Display of Greed A 54 year old businessman with a history of criminal activity, began the Metro Display Company, with the idea of selling bus-stop shelters, with advertising space, throughout Sou

New Era - Same Con One of the all-time monster frauds was the Ponzi scheme which revolved around the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy. Drawn by the promoter's charismatic personality, his Christ

Pledge With an Edge A man who ran a $300 million ponzi scheme has been indicted on charges of defrauding more than 500 people in 17 states. He promised to pay interest as high as 36% on investments

Texas Tea Gives You Gas By selling interests in 29 limited partnerships, the principles of Beacon Income Funds defrauded approximately 1,100 investors, most of whom were senior citizens, who were t

Probe launched into Grand Island insurance agency BY JOE RUFF WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER A criminal investigation has been launched against a Nebraska insurance agency that serves Native Ameri

A Better Life For Who? The Better Life Club of America out of Washington sold investments in an advertising business that would use "900 pay-per-call lines". They raked in $2 million per week at th

We Can't Make Enough In one investment program called Southern Tool & Equipment Repair & Investment Services victims were told that their invested funds would be used to purchase used tractor-trail

Every Home Will Buy One You get a call which offers a chance to buy from Sterling Multi-Media a "Media Unit" that entitles you to share the proceeds from products sold in a number of television com

They Were So Small The Omni Capital Group in Florida purportedly sold investment opportunities in the form of shares, contract rights, and participation rights in limited partnerships formed to pur