List - Quite a few Ponzi Schemes Collapsed in the Last Couple Weeks

07:55 AM CST on Wednesday, January

The Securities and Exchange Commission sued a Lamesa, Texas, man Tuesday, alleging he ran a $45 million Ponzi scheme in West Texas.

The suit alleges that Rod Cameron Stringer, 43, fooled investors into giving him millions by advertising annual returns as high as 61 percent and that he failed to invest a substantial portion of the money he's been given.

[url http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-localbriefs_21bus.State.Edition1.e6c66f.html]

January 22, 2009
In these busy times for battling Ponzi schemes, the federal prosecutors have charged a Philadelphia-area fund manager with defrauding investors of $50 million.

The criminal mail fraud charges against Joseph Forte follow similar charges levied by the Commodities Future Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission last month. According to the regulators, Forte approached federal authorities in December as his alleged scam fell apart and confessed.

[url http://www.finalternatives.com/node/6681]

Citing her "devastating impact on a community that can least afford it," a judge Tuesday sentenced an Altadena woman to more than 12 years in federal prison for orchestrating a $17.8-million Ponzi scheme that preyed largely on middle-class African American investors.

[url http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/la-me-scam21-2009jan21,0,6828491.story]

As in Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, Bradford Bleidt stole $32.6 million by persuading those with social ties to give him money to "invest." In Bleidt's case, his victims were fellow Masons in the Boston area who typically had saved money for years while working at blue-collar jobs.

[url http://www.abajournal.com/news/investors_in_32.6m_ponzi_scheme_win_only_cameraderie_boston_bank_not_liable]

On Jan. 6, the suit says, they were abruptly informed Riolo's firms had become insolvent and ceased operation.


It is not clear how many people invested with Riolo or how much money may be lost. One investor said she thinks total losses could exceed $50 million.

Riolo's attorney, Bart Houston, could not be reached for comment Monday despite two phone calls to his office and an e-mail.A security guard at the gated community of The Oaks of Boca Raton, where Riolo lives in a $1.2 million home, said Riolo did not want to speak with a reporter.

[url http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/local_news/epaper/2009/01/20/0120ponzi.html]


IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Finance has begun investigating a possible Ponzi scheme involving as much as $50 million, an officials says.

Marilyn Chastain, securities bureau chief for the agency, told the Post Register the target of the investigation is a local business operator, Daren Palmer, who is linked with Trigon Group Inc.

[url http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,480750,00.html]

OMAHA, Neb.: An alleged Ponzi scheme by a Grand Island insurance agency that recently filed bankruptcy listing more than $100 million in debt is being investigated.

Attorney General Jon Bruning on Tuesday authorized the State Patrol's investigation into First Americans Insurance Service and its three principals: James Masat, Stella Levea and Kenneth Mottin. The patrol is working with the departments of insurance and banking to piece together how more than $100 million disappeared — with Bruning believing some of it may have been paid out to other investors.
[url http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/21/america/Securities-Probe.php]