http://www.reuters.com/article/us-platinumpartners-lawsuit-idUSKBN1481BI
Top executives of New York-based hedge fund manager Platinum Partners were arrested on Monday and charged with running a $1 billion fraud that federal prosecutors said became "like a Ponzi scheme" as its largest investments lost much of their value.
Led by Mark Nordlicht, Platinum was known for years for producing exceptionally high returns -- about 17 percent annually in its largest fund -- by taking an unusually aggressive approach to investing and fund management, as detailed by a Reuters Special Report in April. (reut.rs/1TRovwx)
Nordlicht, Platinum's founding partner and chief investment officer, was arrested at his home in New Rochelle, New York. Federal prosecutors accused him and six others of participating in a pair of schemes to defraud investors.
[...] Capers added that the case was one of the largest and "most brazen" investment frauds ever and Platinum was ultimately exposed to have "no more value than a tarnished piece of cheap metal."
Also reported on by Bloomberg here.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Francis on Wednesday December 21 2016, @12:46AM
Not always, somebody conned my uncle out of quite a bit of money and the returns he was promising were completely reasonable. It's just that he was embezzling the money.
Cases like this start with at least some belief that they can do it, but over time they have to choose between coming clean and admitting that things aren't working, or continuing things via fraud.