Ponzi Scheme

Three professional athletes--Denver Broncos' quarterback Mark Sanchez, San Francisco Giants' pitcher Jake Peavy, and former major league pitcher Roy Oswalt--are the victims of an alleged Ponzi-like scheme operated by an investment adviser who appealed to their Christianity. According to the SEC the three were conned out of roughly $30 million. The SEC has filed suit in Dallas federal court. Ash Narayan, formerly of RGT Capital Management, gained the trust of the athletes through religion and their interest in charitable works, the SEC said. The agency also claims that Narayan hid many conflicts of interest from his investors. He directed the athletes' cash to The Ticket Reserve Inc., which allows fans to reserve face-value tickets to sporting events where the teams have yet to be determined. Narayan was on the company's board of directors, owned over three million shares, and was its primary fundraiser, raising over 90% of the company's investment capital. Each of the athletes wanted low-risk, conservative [...]

Haena Park, a New York foreign exchange trader, has been charged with investor fraud, claiming her investments were profitable when she actually lost over $16 million since 2012. The SEC claims Park misrepresented her investment background in raising at least $14 million from over thirty investors for funds she operated under the name Phaetra and Argenta. While enduring major losses in the futures and forex markets, she allegedly fooled investors by, among other things, sending them monthly statements showing fictitious profits. In a parallel criminal case, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said Park defrauded investors out of more than $23 million since January 2010. According to the prosecution, she claimed annualized returns as high as 48.9% but lost about $19.5 million of the $20 million she had traded. Authorities believe she hid the losses by using $3 million in new investor funds to pay back previous investors in classic Ponzi fashion. “We allege that [...]