How do you know we won’t run off with your money?

What do a ticket reselling scheme featuring the Broadway hit “Hamilton,” a luxury real estate developer, and an Indian cryptocurrency ploy have in common? They were all Ponzi schemes whose fraudsters swindled millions of dollars from their unsuspecting victims last year. Sadly, Ponzi schemes are alive and thriving. In a Ponzi scheme, the fraudster uses money s/he collects from new investors to pay off existing investors. What seems like a return on your investment is just money from another investor. Although unsuspecting elderly investors are the preferred target, younger investors can also fall victim to these scams. Prospective clients sometimes ask us: “How do I know you won’t run off with my money?” Our response is to direct investors to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) website, which published a list of warning signs. These include: Promises of high returns with little or no risk, and delivering consistent returns even in down markets — Every investment carries risk. Remember the old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.” The real estate developer, for example, was promising investors 5-10% annual interest payments. In today’s low interest environment, it’s little wonder that he could swindle close to