Washington – The chief executive of a Miami Beach investment firm was charged in federal court today with running an $880 million Ponzi scheme that bilked at least 60 investors in New Jersey and elsewhere.
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Nevin Shapiro, 41, CEO of Capitol Investments USA, Inc., is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge later today. He is charged with securities fraud and money laundering.
Authorities said between 2005 and 2009 Shapiro recruited investors, saying their money would be used to fund his company’s wholesale grocery business. The alleged victims included the owner of a company in New Jersey who invested roughly $5.4 million with Capitol Investments, authorities said.
Shapiro offered annual interest returns between 10 and 26 percent, according to a criminal complaint signed by Special Agent Gregory Yankow. But in truth, authorities said, Capitol Investments had nothing to do with wholesale groceries.
Instead of investing, Shapiro used used funds from new investors to make interest payments to existing ones — making for a classic Ponzi scheme, authorities said.
He also spent up to $35 million on himself, authorities said. That included paying off gambling debts, buying $400,000 floor seats for the Miami Heat professional basketball team, leasing a $4,700-a-month Mercedes-Benz and donating more than $150,000 of investor money to the University of Miami, which named a student-athlete lounge in his honor, authorities said.
A university spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Last year, a group of investors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Shapiro after he failed to make payments. As of today, authorities say the firm owns more than $80 million to investors.
wheww!!!!! it’s been a while. i was thinking that maybe people actually learned a lesson fromm the past few ponzi schemes. well, i guess nothing changes.
If he cooperates and pleads this down, unlike “someone else we know” he’ll be fine. A few years with three hots and a cot is all he’ll get.
What the govt has done stealing from us under the guise of taxes, is FAR WORSE than any little ponzi scheme.
When will we learn? if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.
I think the SEC needs to investigate every single investment firm. Almost every last one is a fraud!!!
We need to write letters on his behalf. Give him a break as he probably has kids and maybe one or two are special needs. Why is the governent so anti semitic anyhow? Why do they mostly pick on us instead of goyim?
Consider Social Security. Didn’t the government take those funds, which were to be held in trust for the depositors? They spent the money against future deposits Isn’t that an official Ponzi?
We should copy and paste all these comments for the next jewish ponzi scheme.
Doesn’t anybody have anything original to say??
Innocent until proven guilty!!!
Kollel guys are going to have to go and actually work. The money well is running dry.
Promising big profits from the grocery biz is a joke. They have slim margins. People are fools. Invest in seforim and learn some TORAH !!!