Respectable Citizens Sucked In: Con Artists Ruin Lives
Here is a story about an unfortunate man named Ron. Ron never thought he would require a Cincinnati Criminal Defense attorney. Ron had never met a Cincinnati criminal defense lawyer in his entire life. Ron had been a careful man all his life, cautious in business and careful in relationships. Ron was a religious man that helped at a soup kitchen and visited the infirmed. Ron was a trusting person because he was a person who could be trusted. Ron was the perfect mark for a trio of con artists that showed up at a church social.
Ron had benefited from years of hard work and had earned a good reputation as an honest man that knew all the town leaders. The con artists saw him as the perfect spokesperson for their fraudulent scheme. The con artists specialized in using historical bank notes. They said they were aware of prime bank notes that could offer an amazing return on the dollar. The problem was getting enough capital together, about 10 million, to be able to buy and trade the notes. These guaranteed prime bank notes could turn a 20% profit in a very short time. They had all the paper work and all the documents. These were historical notes uncovered in the Philippines and needed to be kept quite lest other investors jump on the wagon and try to buy them first.
The con artists met with Ron over thirty times, patiently answering all his questions and supplying historical records and participating in international conference calls. Ron agreed to promote the project to his peers and to act as the contact on this unique opportunity.
The con artists organized a meeting in the Bahamas to invite the potential investors and convince them the scheme was legitimate. By being off shore they were able to circumvent several U.S. laws concerning investments. Ron unknowingly became the public face in a fraudulent scheme. The initial investors were all impressed with the well organized event and the informative sessions. They invested handsomely, many believing a man of integrity like Ron would never lead them astray. Ron saw his initial investment, modest as it was began to payoff. He became an ardent believer and actively promoted the project.
The con artists had continued to take money in and pay dividends to the early investors using money collected from later investors. After a year of courting Ron and another year of managing the investments, the money disappeared along with the three men. As it all came apart Ron found himself in the middle of a nightmare. The con men had made sure that Ron’s enrichment was substantial and obvious before they left. Ron looked like he had profited greatly at the expense of those who came late to the party. Many people lost homes and families. Ron was being charged with fraud and he was busy trying to repair the damage. His down fall was to trust others to be as honest as he was. Now Ron hopes that he can regain his life and reputation with the help of attorneys.