The SEC announced earlier this week that it filed civil charges against former broker and investment adviser Frank Bluestein in connection with the Edward May ponzi scheme. According to the SEC's press release, Blustein was the largest seller of the ponzi scheme, raising about $74 Million from over 800 investors. The SEC alleges that Blustein targeted elderly and/or retired folks to purchase the "investment" and recommended that some of them refinance their homes to gain access to funds to make an investment. The Complaint alleges that Bluestein pitched these investments as safe and guaranteed and that he had completed sufficient due diligence to check out the issuer and the investment, when he had not. The SEC's Complaint can be found here.
Don't become a victim in a scheme such as this. Be wary of purchasing investments from a broker that do not go through the brokerage firm. And, be wary of an investment that sounds too good to be true. In a;most every circumstance, large gains don't come from low-risk, safe and guaranteed investments.
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