Respectable Citizens Sucked In: Con Artists Ruin Lives
Sunday, August 29th, 2010Here is a story about an unfortunate man named Ron. Ron never thought he would need a Cincinnati Criminal Defense attorney. Ron had never encountered a Cincinnati criminal defense lawyer in his entire life. Ron had been a cautious person all his life, cautious in business and careful in personal affairs. Ron was a religious man that helped at a soup kitchen and stopped in at the nursing home. Ron was a trusting person because he was a person who could be trusted. Ron was the perfect victim for a trio of con artists that met him at a church social.
Ron had benefited from years of hard work and had earned a good reputation as an honest man that traveled in all the right circles. The con artists saw him as the perfect spokesperson for their investment scheme. They worked in the prime bank note area of fraud. They claimed to have access to prime bank notes that could turn a hefty profit. The problem was getting enough capital together, about 10 million, to be able to buy and trade the notes. These guaranteed notes could turn a 20% profit in a very short time. They had showed official reports and all the documents. These were historical notes discovered in the Philippines and required confidentiality to avoid a stampede of competing concerns.
The con artists met with Ron over thirty times, patiently answering all his questions and supplying historical records and participating in international conference calls. Ron agreed to promote the project to his peers and to act as the contact on this unique opportunity.
The con artists organized an event in the Bahamas to invite the potential investors and woo them into the plan. By being off shore they were able to circumvent several U.S. laws concerning investments. Ron unknowingly became the public face in a major con. The initial investors were all impressed with the well organized event and the informative sessions. They threw their money at the project, many believing a man of integrity like Ron would never lead them astray. Ron watched his initial investment, modest as it was began to payoff. He became an ardent believer and actively promoted the project.
The con artists had continued to take money in and pay dividends to the early investors using money collected from later investors. After a year of courting Ron and another year of managing the investments, the money disappeared along with the three men. As it all unraveled Ron found himself in the the uncomfortable spotlight. The con men had made certain that Ron’s return was substantial and obvious before they left. Ron looked like he had profited greatly at the expense of the other investors. Many people lost homes and families. Ron was being charged with fraud and he was busy trying to sort the mess out and make amends. His biggest crime was to trust others to be as full of integrity as he was. Now Ron hopes that he can rebuild his life and reputation with the help of attorneys.