If legendary comedian W.C. Fields were alive today, he would argue that there is a sucker born every second, particularly among investors looking for a quick buck. If you were shocked by the $50 billion Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, get ready to hear more tales of investors wronged by scam artists.Madoff and his ilk can keep their alleged frauds going as long as there is an endless supply of gullible individuals eager to make "fast money" without asking too many questions. It was only when the market tanked that investors started to withdraw money from the one-time Wall Street legend and that the scheme was therefore unraveled. The same scenario may have occurred with clients of Joseph S. Forte of Broomall, Pa.
According to the SEC, Forte told investors that he would invest their money in an account that would trade in securities futures contracts including S&P 500 stock index futures.
"Despite the impressive and consistent returns he reported to investors, Forte consistently lost money in the limited trading that he did, withdrew millions of dollars in so-called fees for his personal use based on the falsely inflated value of Forte LP, and used investor funds to repay other investors," the agency said in a press release.
Forte has allegedly been bilking investors since at least 1995. Like Madoff, he reported annual returns that were too good to be true between 18.52% to 37.96%. In reality, Forte had net trading losses of about $3.3 million from January 1998 to October 2008.
Other people are being conned by their financial advisers.
Recently, an Ameriprise adviser in Florida convinced his clients to invest in a Costa Rican real estate deal promising a 100% return. The offer was not approved by the company, a problem which is surprisingly common. Another Ameriprise adviser convinced his clients to invest in a movie starring Paris Hilton.
Times are tough. People are desperate to safeguard their nest eggs. Many wannabe Madoffs are eager to exploit the situation, which is scary.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-08-2009 @ 12:14PM
Ray said...
If you're dumb enough to believe 18% to 38% annual returns on your "investment", you deserve to get screwed !!
1-08-2009 @ 1:54PM
Titus said...
The Feds asked Madoff, "How did you come up with the idea for using money from new investors to pay off prior investors? Madoff replied, The Government's Social Security Trust Fund!
1-26-2009 @ 8:44AM
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1-31-2009 @ 1:00PM
butchcosmallwood said...
Will that bastard get a state appointed defense??hell no ,he'll get the best lawyers ,he can get,with stolen money!!He's a poster child for this corrupt gov't !!washington d.c. isn't even a state,who would miss it ,anyways