Deaf Community Becomes Victim of Ponzi Scheme
Another Ponzi scheme, uncovered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday, was preying on the Deaf Community.
Marvin Cooper's company, Billion Coupons, Inc. (BCI), based in Hawaii was targeting members of the Deaf Community both here in the United States and in Japan. The company duped investors, offering impossibly, high returns on their investments in short periods of time.
.jpg)
In September of 2007 BCI and their CEO, Cooper, began taking advantage of naive investors by giving presentations and seminars at Deaf Community centers and events. The fraudster ultimately collected $4.4 million from 125 investors and, rather than investing the money, bought himself a new home, among other things.
BCI convinced investors that their money would be invested in foreign exchange markets and would earn returns of up to 25 percent. According to the SEC, the company invested only $800,000 in foreign trading and lost more than $750,000 of it.
BCI and Cooper proceeded to pay returns to early investors with new investors' money, which, according to the SEC's Rosalind Tyson, is "reprehensible." The company's assets have been frozen by court order.
Investment Fraud Attorney
Recovering investments lost in an investment fraud can take extensive research and can be very time consuming. Our team of securities attorneys has the experience and expertise it takes to recover lost investments.
If you or a loved one has lost money in a Ponzi scheme, contact an investment fraud attorney at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free consultation.
