Investor Alert
Another New York Ponzi Scheme appears about to Collapse
New York, New York, December 19, 2008—
The recent headlines focusing on Bernard Madoff have captured nationwide attention. The chairman of Madoff Investment Securities was arrested for apparently running a long-term, fraud-based Ponzi scheme, duping many big name investors over the years for an approximate total of $50 billion.
The news story has caused many individuals to apply more scrutiny to their own investments, focusing on several factors that are obvious red flags indicating they may have invested their own money in a similar Ponzi scheme, albeit on a smaller scale than that of Bernard Madoff.
In the late summer of 2008, Kessler International, the world’s premier forensic accounting, computer forensics and corporate investigation strategies firm, completed an investigation into fraudulent investment operations. The findings were published in an earlier press release, and the results were subsequently turned over to local, state and federal authorities who to date have not acted upon the information, allowing the operators to take advantage of additional investors. At that time Kessler found that almost 98 percent of the investment operations paying exorbitant rates of return are Ponzi schemes.
"In these economic times, people are looking for ways to make their money work for them, and there are individuals that prey on that," said President and CEO Michael G. Kessler. "Through our investigations, we've found that many of these so-called opportunities are frauds and scams, and any potential investor is susceptible, from the novice to savvy financiers."
Recently, Kessler’s Long Island office has again received numerous reports from worried individuals, concerned that they have invested large sums of money into what appears to be a Ponzi scheme run by a local company. As Long Island is known as the capital of brokerage firm scams, as depicted in the February 2000 movie “Boiler Roomâ€, it is no surprise that other fraud schemes have taken up residence there as well.
What Kessler finds very troubling is the apparent lack of concern and the wait-and-see attitude shown by regulators when possible Ponzi schemes are reported by investors. While many of the individuals who run these Ponzi schemes do eventually end up serving jail time, it is often too late for the investors, who then find themselves unable to recuperate any of their lost investment. Based upon conversations with the Long Island investors concerned about their investments, the action they are taking is too late, as the information they have told us raises the red flags that the Ponzi scheme may be on the verge of collapse.
Additionally, many of these same investors, even after seeing the red flags and potential warnings both before and during the investment, choose to do nothing. This can be attributed to greed or the simple hope that they may still get their money back so long as they don’t cause any trouble for those running the investment operation.
The Ponzi scheme attracts a steady tide of initial investors for a variety of reasons, most notably a high return-on-investment after a relatively short period of time. During this economic crisis, in which fear, greed and desperation have forced aside common sense, and even banks are no longer a secure option for many, more individuals are choosing to invest in what appears to be a questionable investment.
However, as the state of the economy has only continued to worsen, what was once a lucrative swell of investors is already beginning to recede, causing many Ponzi and pyramid schemes to fall long before they were meant to. This is evidenced by reports of recent announcements by the Long Island investment entity to investors that payment due dates are being postponed, possibly indicative of a forthcoming collapse.
For more information about Ponzi and pyramid schemes, see Kessler’s previous press release at
http://www.investigation.com/press66.htmFor years, Kessler International has been using its expertise in accounting, computer forensics and corporate fraud to investigate financial and cyber fraud. Established in 1988, Kessler International's satisfied clients are comprised of an extensive and distinguished list of Fortune 500 companies and prestigious law firms worldwide. Its diverse staff includes former prosecutors, former law enforcement agents, attorneys, certified forensic accountants, CPAs, certified internal controls auditors, licensed investigators and researchers.
For more information on forensic accounting, computer forensics, and investment fraud, visit Kessler International’s website at
http://www.investigation.com or call (212) 286-9100.