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.