Ponzi Scheme

10 Mistakes That Turn Investors Into Their Own Worst Enemies

The hardest part of investing can sometimes be getting out of your own way. Too often, we let emotions guide our investing strategies, with disastrous results. A new study reveals the most common mistakes: We've summed up the popular pitfalls so you can avoid them.

Life After a Ponzi Scheme: Victim Turns Huge Loss into Literature

In 2008, R.P. McCabe saw a $1 million investment in real estate disappear, not due to the recession, but a Ponzi scheme that robbed around 700 investors of $100 million. First he got mad. Then he got depressed. Next, he got curious. And then he wrote a novel based on the experiences of his fellow victims: "Betrayed."

.44 Magnum Investment Scam Was Intended to Be a Real Killer

After all the times people have been duped by Ponzi schemes and Nigerian scams, people still fall for similar cons. But in the case of the .44 Magnum Leveraged Financing Program, some investors recently found a way to lose their money with a real bang.

Ex-Stanford Exec Gets 3 Years for $7 Billion Swindle

A top executive in the now-defunct empire of disgraced Texas financier R. Allen Stanford was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday for her role in helping the once jet-setting businessman bilk investors out of more than $7 billion in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.

How Our Tiny 'Thefts' Add Up to Madoff-Scale Damage

It's easy to place the blame for many of our societal problems on newsworthy criminals like Bernie Madoff. But the truth is, most of us engage in minor acts of ethical misconduct that, cumulatively, have a worse effect than the crimes that make the news.

Hedge Fund Manager to Pay $405 Million to Madoff Victims

A settlement announced Sunday will bring $405 million to the clients of hedge fund manager J. Ezra Merkin who were victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. They include a host of charitable organizations; most will receive more than 40% of of their losses back.

Stanford Gets 110 Years for Role in $7 Billion Swindle

Former jet-setting Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford, whose financial empire once spanned the Americas, was sentenced Thursday to 110 years in prison for bilking investors out of more than $7 billion over 20 years in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.

How Getting Robbed by Bernie Madoff Led Her to a Happier Life

Geneen Roth and her husband Matt were ripped off by Bernie Madoff -- victims of his now-notorious Ponzi scheme. Her first reactions when she found out were panic, terror, self-blame and rage. But her struggle to deal with the financial catastrophe led her to see another side of life.

A Simple Money Move That Could Save Social Security

With so many pundits fretting about Social Security's possible collapse in 2036, it's hard to be optimistic about the entitlement program's future. But one insurance expert thinks that giving retirees a bit more flexibility could save the entire system.

Ponzi Scheme or Not, Social Security Is Going to Shrink

Social Security's trust fund is in the long, slow process of collapsing because it won't have enough funds to pay its promised benefits. Sound like a Ponzi scheme? Perhaps, but at least this "scheme" is one in which you can come out ahead -- especially if you start preparing now.

Social Security Going Bust? That's the Small Problem

The woes Social Security faces have generated plenty of worried talk lately, but even if nothing changes, it'll be solvent until 2036. But Medicare, the other major government program that retirees rely on, is on course for financial disaster years sooner. That program, of course, is Medicare, and the funding situation for the portion of its benefits that retirees receive looks even scarier than Social Security's prospects right now.

L.A. Radio Host Charged With Ponzi Scheme

An Iranian-American businessman who hosted a popular Persian language radio show called Economy Today has been indicted on charges that he robbed investors of $20 million in a Ponzi scheme than ran for six years.

Was Kris Humphries Conned By a Financial Scammer?

Kris Humphries may be mourning the death of his brief marriage to Kim Kardashian, but that may not be the only thing he has lost recently. It appears he may have been the victim of financial fraud, losing perhaps several hundred thousand dollars. Let his case be a warning to you: Here's what to watch out for.

Street Gangs Clean Up on White Collar Crime

Taking a cue from more high-end swindlers, a slew of violent gangs, including the Bloods, the Crips and the Latin Kings are branching out into mortgage fraud, identity theft, check counterfeiting and bank fraud, among other crimes.

SEC Claims Dead Money Manager Sold Fake Bonds

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued the estate of money manager Joel David Salinas, the president of J. David Financial who died last month, and Brian Bjork, chief investment officer of Select Asset Management, for allegedly selling $50 million of fake bonds.

Fraud Files: Plenty of Blame to Go Around in the Madoff Case

It's been more than two years since Bernie Madoff's gigantic Ponzi scheme collapsed, but the blame game is just beginning. And many of the victims are jockeying for position, hoping to recover some money from other parties who might be deemed partly responsible for the fraud.

Madoff: Banks and Hedge Funds Were 'Complicit'

In a jailhouse interview with the New York Times, Madoff pointed to a failure by banks and hedge funds to investigate when his filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission didn't jibe with information that they could have obtained. And he still says he acted alone.

JPMorgan Faces Lawsuit Over Madoff Fraud

A court-appointed trustee is suing JPMorgan Chase for its alleged involvement in Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. The investment bank was Madoff's primary bank for 20 years. JPMorgan said it didn't know about -- much less assist -- Madoff's fraud.