Ponzi scheme suits...lawyers.....

[mrvette]

Seems a friend of my sister was running some sort of Ponzi scheme here in Florida, and so sis was invested fairly early on, and got paid back her money plus interest, so she made out OK, but in fact was lied to all along by the operators....this thing ran out of St. Augustine, just down the road a bit from me.....I knew she was into some investment there, but about 2 months ago she mentioned the 'investment' here was a Ponzi scheme, and it went belly up and she lost her 60 grand ....but had made decent returns over some many year so was pissed, but looking back not all that upset...so moved on with it in her mind....

but now some others in the BK filing are trying to sue HER for whatever, and recover from HER, who had nothing to do with it.....

and so living in New Mexico, she can't afford a lawyer, and is doing her own filings and paperwork, I just heard about this in a chance phone call to say hello....she is age 81 now and in decent shape for a old fossil.....but she is scared they going to put a lean on her house, and apparently N. Mex has no homestead laws like Florida, so they can grab her equity in the joint, she has been trying to sell and move back east and just rent for some time now, but honestly her house is worth maybe her mortgage amount, which is why it's not selling....she needs to do a wrap on it, but that's the only way out....

so any of you all know anything helpful???

:shots::waiting::sadangel:

[Kevin_73]

Seems a friend of my sister was running some sort of Ponzi scheme here in Florida, and so sis was invested fairly early on, and got paid back her money plus interest, so she made out OK, but in fact was lied to all along by the operators....this thing ran out of St. Augustine, just down the road a bit from me.....I knew she was into some investment there, but about 2 months ago she mentioned the 'investment' here was a Ponzi scheme, and it went belly up and she lost her 60 grand ....but had made decent returns over some many year so was pissed, but looking back not all that upset...so moved on with it in her mind....

but now some others in the BK filing are trying to sue HER for whatever, and recover from HER, who had nothing to do with it.....

and so living in New Mexico, she can't afford a lawyer, and is doing her own filings and paperwork, I just heard about this in a chance phone call to say hello....she is age 81 now and in decent shape for a old fossil.....but she is scared they going to put a lean on her house, and apparently N. Mex has no homestead laws like Florida, so they can grab her equity in the joint, she has been trying to sell and move back east and just rent for some time now, but honestly her house is worth maybe her mortgage amount, which is why it's not selling....she needs to do a wrap on it, but that's the only way out....

so any of you all know anything helpful???

:shots::waiting::sadangel:

I can't help your sister with her problem, but I can help you out.

Here you go.:cert:

My 81 year old sister who lives in New Mexico is being sued. It seems she was an early investor in what
turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, which was operated out of St. Augustine Fl (just down the road from me).
About 2 months ago she mentioned that the investment had gone belly up and she had lost about $60,000.00,
which she was understandably upset about. Since she was an early investor she had made some good returns though,
so that helped ease some of the pain and she was ready to just put it down as a learning experience and move
on with her life.

Unfortunately some of the later investors are now trying to sue her to recover their losses. She can't really
afford an attorney so she is filing all the paperwork herself, but is concerned that if they get a judgement
against her they could put a lien on her house. She is trying to sell the house now to cut her losses and move
back East, but there have been no offers for the amount that she needs to get out of it.

Does anyone here have any idea how I might be able to help her in this predicament?

[mikeg826]

I can't help your sister with her problem, but I can help you out.

Here you go.:cert:

My 81 year old sister who lives in New Mexico is being sued. It seems she was an early investor in what
turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, which was operated out of St. Augustine Fl (just down the road from me).
About 2 months ago she mentioned that the investment had gone belly up and she had lost about $60,000.00,
which she was understandably upset about. Since she was an early investor she had made some good returns though,
so that helped ease some of the pain and she was ready to just put it down as a learning experience and move
on with her life.

Unfortunately some of the later investors are now trying to sue her to recover their losses. She can't really
afford an attorney so she is filing all the paperwork herself, but is concerned that if they get a judgement
against her they could put a lien on her house. She is trying to sell the house now to cut her losses and move
back East, but there have been no offers for the amount that she needs to get out of it.

Does anyone here have any idea how I might be able to help her in this predicament?


:seasix::seasix:

[LilRedCorvette]

:seasix::seasix:

:iagree: Good translation :seasix:

[mrvette]

I can't help your sister with her problem, but I can help you out.

Here you go.:cert:

My 81 year old sister who lives in New Mexico is being sued. It seems she was an early investor in what
turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, which was operated out of St. Augustine Fl (just down the road from me).
About 2 months ago she mentioned that the investment had gone belly up and she had lost about $60,000.00,
which she was understandably upset about. Since she was an early investor she had made some good returns though,
so that helped ease some of the pain and she was ready to just put it down as a learning experience and move
on with her life.

Unfortunately some of the later investors are now trying to sue her to recover their losses. She can't really
afford an attorney so she is filing all the paperwork herself, but is concerned that if they get a judgement
against her they could put a lien on her house. She is trying to sell the house now to cut her losses and move
back East, but there have been no offers for the amount that she needs to get out of it.

Does anyone here have any idea how I might be able to help her in this predicament?


Thanks for your efforts, seriously, but in all honesty it reads the same to me....maybe because I"m in the middle here....she cut her conversation really short due to time constraints....

GOD I hate the 'legal' system we have, it sux donkey balls....

:issues:

[Kevin_73]

it reads the same to me....

Therein lies the problem. :D

:cert:

[lspencer534]

OP, this isn't my area of the law, but I'm not sure anyone has the answer to your sister's problem. In the Madoff scandal, the trustee who is trying to recover assets for investors, has filed many lawsuits against investors who profied from the Ponzi scheme. The biggest target in the suits is the New York Mets for $300M.

Although it looks like the Mets suit will settle, it doesn't asnswer the question whether there is merit to such suits. If there is merit, likely the only thing that can recovered is profits the investors made, not their original investment too. Also, the trustee would have to show that the investors who are sued "willfully turned a blind eye" to the Ponzi scheme.

[mrvette]

OP, this isn't my area of the law, but I'm not sure anyone has the answer to your sister's problem. In the Madoff scandal, the trustee who is trying to recover assets for investors, has filed many lawsuits against investors who profied from the Ponzi scheme. The biggest target in the suits is the New York Mets for $300M.

Although it looks like the Mets suit will settle, it doesn't asnswer the question whether there is merit to such suits. If there is merit, likely the only thing that can recovered is profits the investors made, not their original investment too. Also, the trustee would have to show that the investors who are sued "willfully turned a blind eye" to the Ponzi scheme.

Well I know sis would have never done anything illegal, had she known, the woman in charge maybe in jail for arrest for all I know....sis is about as ignorant about finance and business deals and the legal system as I am....

since it is a Florida scam, like so many others, I really don't think they can do shit to her...just cause her so much angst...

methinks it's a over reaction on her part....can they attack her widow's Fed.Gov check from her hubby?? that would seriously upset her apple cart, if they tried to grab her house, well all her dreams of equity in the joint go up in the smoke of today's market, anyway...been for sale for 2 years now and she will not admit reality .....:sadangel:

[lspencer534]

"Fed. Gov check from her hubby": Just what is that anyway? Social Security is exempt, as are most other Gov. retirement funds, at least to a certain extent. Read this:

"A new interim federal rule, 31 C.F.R. Part 212 promulgated by the U. S. Treasury Fiscal Service [FN1] goes into effect May 1, 2011 protecting federal benefits automatically deposited into bank accounts from restraint or execution by judgment creditors. The interim rule applies to all banks and credit unions chartered by any state or by the federal government.

The amount protected in the account from restraint or execution is the total amount of all exempt benefits deposited in the previous two months, or the balance in the account as of the day the restraint is received, whichever is less. So, if $3,000 in social security funds were deposited in the previous two months, then the bank balance, up to $3,000, is exempt from restraint. This is more generous (from the perspective of the debtor) than New York's LIBR (lowest intermediate balance rule) of accounting.

The new interim rule applies only to Social Security, SSI, Veterans, Railroad Retirement and Federal Government employees retirement benefits. Other exempt federal benefits may be added later, by rulemaking. This interim rule does not apply if the garnishment is for child support or by the United States Government."

If New Mex. has no or a small homestead exemption, then her equity in her home may be subject to seizure if there is a Judgment against her. Most Judgment creditors don't want to sell her house unless there is clearly equity in it.

You mentioned that they "are trying to sue her". Have they sued her? If so, she needs to hire a lawyer immediately. DO NOT LET HER TRY TO REPRESENT HERSELF. She will surely get screwed.

[mrvette]

You mentioned that they "are trying to sue her". Have they sued her? If so, she needs to hire a lawyer immediately. DO NOT LET HER TRY TO REPRESENT HERSELF. She will surely get screwed.

Widow's pension under the old SS system before it went to FERS....is what she has...

I dunno why, but she is representing herself, I on the backside of this shit, didn't know anything about it, just heard about it today....

she said she didn't have the money to hire a lawyer.....

:sadangel:

[lspencer534]

Widow's pension under the old SS system before it went to FERS....is what she has...

I dunno why, but she is representing herself, I on the backside of this shit, didn't know anything about it, just heard about it today....

she said she didn't have the money to hire a lawyer.....
:sadangel:

But she has the money or assets to pay a Judgment against her? I know it's not your responsibility, but she's being very penny-wise and pound-foolish.

[mrvette]

But she has the money or assets to pay a Judgment against her? I know it's not your responsibility, but she's being very penny-wise and pound-foolish.

I dunno all that much about her shituation, but she got a cash flow problem, and little to no assets except maybe a fantasy few in her house, but after 2-3 years of trying to sell with various realtors, the writing is on the WALL for her, she asking too much money....which is neither here or there as to how much equity they can grab....

but thankfully they can't touch her income, which is a decent amount, I survive on less than 1/3 that amount, but I not carrying her baggage either....

I would suspect what you have said, she has already figgered out, and so she was sued/named in a class action/whatever and is answering best she can for all the interrogatories.....which is/was due this afternoon....

the kid always is late, late for her own funeral, bet on it....


:sadangel::kimblair:

[lspencer534]

Sounds like you're doing all you can. My best wishes and good luck to her. :seasix: