Course info

A Ponzi scheme uses funds deposited from new investors to pay returns - usually far more than normal investments - to existing investors.

Many Ponzi schemes are headed by a dynamic, respected individual who promotes an element of exclusivity to attract new investors. The infamous Bernard Madoff refused many potential investors, and Joseph Forte’s lifestyle attracted many wealthy Philadelphia area residents wanting to be recognized as Forte investors.,

Robert Allen Stanford was a larger-than-life figure, claiming to be a direct descendent of the founder of Stanford University and holding a knighthood from the Caribbean nation Antigua and Barbuda.   Stanford created a network of financial advisors who sold over $8 billion of “certificates of deposit” by promising significantly higher returns than certificates of deposit offered by traditional banks. Stanford also sold more that $ 1 billion of an alleged proprietary mutual fund wrap program called “Stanford Allocation Strategy” by using materially false and misleading historical performance data.

This webcast will examine the elements of Stanford’s scheme and explore red flags that should have shown that Stanford’s investments were “too good to be true.”