Ponzi Schemes & Multi-Level Marketing

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Warning signs of investment scams

What's behind the continuing lure of Ponzi schemes? I think it's that we want to believe the path to El Dorado is easy. I believe it's an oversimplification to say it's all just about greed. It's really that we want things to be easy, we want that one answer that ...

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"Pump and Dump" stock scams

Ever gotten a hot stock tip sent through your Facebook or Twitter account? Here's why you should think twice before buying that highly touted penny stock.

TV/talk show host sentenced for Ponzi scheme

Do you trust me to give good, solid financial and consumer advice? Be careful with that trust! Years ago, I told a story on the air about a talk show host in Colorado who went to jail because he used his show as a front. He was pretending to give ...

Mini-Madoff sentenced for $400 million Ponzi scheme

RIP-OFF ALERT: Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme made many Americans numb to the very idea of Ponzi schemes. But Nicholas Cosmo's $400 million fraud is earning him the nickname "Mini-Madoff" and a 25-year prison sentence. Cosmo's scheme operated for five years and was geared toward blue-collars workers and government ...

Safe "can't lose" investments are usually bogus

RIP-OFF ALERT: At a time when savings accounts are paying puny interest rates and people are afraid of the stock market, I'm seeing a trend of fast-talking con people who are convincing others they have "safe, can't lose" strategies for making big money. Don't believe it! First up, The Los ...

Are weekend investment advice radio shows legit?

RIP-OFF ALERT: Financial advice shows fill up weekend programming on AM radio stations across the country. But are all the hosts on the level? A reporter at The Denver Post looked into 14 weekend programs in the Denver metro area that have an investment focus. Only 2 hosts were found ...

Ponzi schemes all share similar hallmarks

RIP-OFF ALERT: Whenever you hear about a secret strategy for making money that involves high returns and no risks, you're probably facing down a classic Ponzi scheme. Recently, there were 3 different schemes that separated people from big money that I read about in The Los Angeles Times. Let me ...

Two related Ponzi scheme operations allegedly stole $30 million

RIP-OFF ALERT: When you hear words like "great opportunity," "no risk," "guaranteed return" and "secret strategy to make money," what goes through your head? I hope it's those warning sirens you always hear me play on the show. The Denver Post reports 2 men are accused of stealing $30 million ...

Chicago-based Ponzi scheme steals more than $6 million

In one of the latest Ponzi schemes, an aspiring Internet broadcaster was sentenced to 16 years in prison for stealing more than $6 million from "investors" in a supposed payday lending business. Because of the huge interest rates people are charged to borrow at payday lenders, David Hernandez was able ...

Trio of Ponzi schemes highlight the dangers of affinity fraud

Editor's note: This segment originally aired in Nov. 2010 Not a day goes by that I don't hear about another Ponzi scheme somewhere in America. The latest roundup includes busted schemes in Texas, California and Indiana. In the Texas case, one particular scheme had been in operation for five years ...