Crimes & Dimes

Religious Ponzi schemes have been on the rise both in America and abroad, reminding us of the dangers of exploiting people’s need to feel part of a chosen community while simultaneously appealing to their greed. In this episode, we explore the story of Gerald Payne and Greater Ministries International, a fraudulent Christian ministry that conned over 18,000 people out of over 500 million dollars.

Payne and his co-conspirators used elements of prosperity gospel teachings and fictitious social proof generated by elaborate investments in African diamond mines and bogus cancer treatments to seduce innocent investors into an unholy union of lies that, like all Ponzi schemes, came crashing down in spectacular fashion.

Josh, Rob, and Andy explore the details of a Ponzi scheme involving the disgraced Port St. Lucie broker, Darrel Bank who was recently convicted of conspiracy, mail & wire fraud, selling unregistered securities, and money laundering. Bank targeted over 300 victims, mostly senior citizens in a scheme that saw him garnering outrageous 20 to 70 percent fees from unsuspecting clients. Seniors appear to have failed in their due diligence in researching Banks' shady past, which included a barring from the industry in 2010 for selling unregistered securities.

The politically savvy Bank’s ingratiated himself to clients through a bolstered sense of credibility, seemingly legitimized by his co-authorship of the book Successonomics and a local radio show entitled Getting Your Financial House In Order. This pristine public image prevented investors from properly vetting Bank’s who in typical con man fashion continued to exploit his clients naivety through a vicious cycle of fear and greed.

In 2019, the world first became aware of Rick Singer, a supposed “mastermind” behind the now infamous College Admissions Scandal. Singer’s web of deceit entangled everyone from high-powered CEOS to Hollywood stars, capitalizing on the rising fever and fraud endemic in higher education. Singer, a slender yet brash ex-basketball coach ingratiated himself with dozens of families, coaches, and administrators in an attempt to exploit loopholes and oversights, ultimately rewarding his wealthy clients with what he called a “side door” into higher education.We now know that untold numbers of these marks were complicit or even conspiratorial in their cooperation with Singer.

Our guest Perry Kalmus, the COO of the Princeton Education Network and founder of AKALA, an organization committed to leveling the playing field in higher education is here to give us an insiders perspective of this story while reminding listeners that regardless of the schadenfreude that has dominated the tabloid media, hundreds of seemingly obscure or unknown colleges and universities can provide high quality, vocationally focused education for anyone who is willing to look beyond the outdated, high profile college rankings.

Ex-Con Artist Jeff Andrews, a man of many past identities, sits down with us to share stories from his astonishing criminal past. He’s been categorized as a ”criminal genius" and recounts moments from his outrageous life, including 10 years on the run as a fugitive from justice.

Today, Jeff is a man of God, and shares his story to provide hope to inmates; inspiring them to take the road less traveled and get their lives back on track.

The Florida land boom of the 1920's was Florida's first real estate bubble, which burst in 1925. The land boom left behind entire new cities, such as Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Springs, Opa-locka, Miami Shores, and Hollywood.

The boom eventually fizzled out as disaster followed in the shape of the September 1926 Miami Hurricane, which drove many developers into bankruptcy.

In 1925, some 7,000 people seeking a new life and perhaps a new fortune entered Florida each day. In Massachusetts alone, owners of more than 100,000 bank accounts used their savings to invest in Florida land. Deposits in Florida banks increased 400 percent in three years. Ohio politicians were so shocked by the size of the wave of cash flowing southward that they banned Florida real estate firms from doing business in their state.

The 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 continued the catastrophic downward economic trend, and the Florida land boom was officially over as the Great Depression began. The depression and the devastating arrival of the Mediterranean fruit fly a year later destroyed both the tourist and citrus industries upon which Florida depended.

In a few years, an idyllic tropical paradise had been transformed into a bleak humid remote area with few economic prospects. Florida's economy would not recover until World War II.

Sources:

Bubbles, Booms, and Busts: The Rise and Fall of Financial Assets.

BUBBLE IN THE SUN; The Florida Boom of the 1920s and How It Brought On the Great Depression; Article By Christopher Knowlton

GPB Capital Holdings LLC is a private-equity firm that is facing criminal fraud and conspiracy charges for deceiving thousands of investors in what is described as a $1.7 billion Ponzi-like-scheme.

The three men tied to this criminal activity are David Gentile, the owner and chief executive of GPB; Jeffry Schneider, the owner and CEO of Ascendant Capital LLC; and Jeffrey Lash, a former GPB managing partner.

All three were arrested and are expected to appear for arraignment in federal court.

GPB Capital promised steady 8% dividends from investment gains to lure in investors. The Justice Department said that since December 2018, payments have stopped and investors have been unable to retrieve their capital.

It’s reported that GPB have defrauded more than 17,000 investors, and roughly 4,000 of them are seniors.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Investors are taking action against Robinhood after alleging that the trading app engaged in unlawful market manipulation. Robinhood now faces over 90 federal lawsuits.

Could their user agreement clause that requires disputes by users to be settled in arbitration be enough to save them?

The Den of Thieves scandal took place in the 1980's and included the biggest names on Wall Street; Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Siegel, and Dennis Levine. They created the greatest insider-trading ring in financial history and almost walked away with billions...until a team of detectives & expensive attorneys finally brought them to justice. 

One of the most common accusations about Social Security is that it's nothing more than a Ponzi scheme destined for bankruptcy. But is it defrauding Americans? Do we have reason to believe that Social Security will not keep its promise to future generations and continue to pay benefits for years to come?

The Yilishen Tianxi Group was a Chinese company established in 1999 which sold traditional Chinese medicine products made from ants. More than one million people invested in the company, purchasing and raising boxes of ants with the promise that they could sell the ants back for a profit, before it was exposed in 2007 as a ponzi scheme.

Do you think that Charles Ponzi could have been a legitimate businessman?

Share this episode with your friends for an entertaining discussion about where this famous financial fraudster went wrong.

Welcome to Crimes & Dimes with Joshua Krafchick, Andrew Saltman, and Rob Tamburri. We're here to entertain you with stories about famous financial fraud, discussing where white collar criminals went wrong.