3 charged in alleged $200M Ponzi scheme

[BlueJessamine]

Source: San Fancisco Chronicle

Three Northern California men accused of having "callously swindled" thousands of people out of more than $200 million in an alleged Ponzi scheme were arrested late Thursday night, and charged by state Attorney General Jerry Brown with 228 crimes.

James Stanley Koenig, 57, of Redding; Gary T. Armitage, 59, of Healdsburg; and Jeffery A. Guidi, 54, of Santa Rosa are in custody. Bail has been set at $5 million each. Arraignment is expected to take place Tuesday in Shasta County Superior Court in Redding, where the charges were filed.

"These three men callously swindled thousands of individuals out of $200 million to bankroll their extravagant lifestyles," Brown said in a news release. "They took investors' money and used it to pay for an 80-acre castle estate, a Learjet, luxury homes and fancy cars. The Ponzi scheme ultimately collapsed under its own weight, causing hardship to thousands, many of whom were retirees who lost their life savings."

Kay McNeil, 64, a dental assistant in Sebastopol, said she and her husband lost $400,000 they invested with Armitage, a friendly man who had been their insurance agent.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/23/BANP17PNI7.DTL&tsp=1

[indepat]

1. What does it take to make people realize they should not place all of one's money

in a single nest? :shrug:

[suchadeal]

2. Common sense

The problem is, most people prefer nonsense to sense.

[sarcasmo]

3. How many mega million dollar Ponzi Schemes does this make

For the years 2008 and 2009?