Sunday, February 25, 2018

"Ponzi Schemer Blames Mysterious One-Eyed Man; Uses Profits to Give Prostitutes a ‘Better Life’"

I somehow missed this one. We take up the story half-way through a ThinkAdvisor article from October 2012:
...In November 2010, the SEC says that Lunn used investor money to make a $1 million Ponzi-like payment to a favored investor who he thought “was a deserving person.” Lunn paid $1.3 million to marketers of the scheme, including more than $650,000 to Bishop and Curry. Lunn used the remaining investor funds to pay for his personal and business expenses.

Regarding the one-eyed man, the SEC’s complaint said, “Lunn testified that Perello told him that he named the program accordingly because ‘when people found out they’d been ripped off, they would buy a .44 Magnum and shoot themselves in the head.’ Lunn claimed that Perello threatened to kill him and his family if he did not cooperate in the Dresdner scheme, and that he gave the cash he withdrew from investor funds and the Western Union transfers to Perello. Lunn is the only person who claims to have met Perello in person, saying he does not know Perello’s true identify or current whereabouts and that his only distinguishing characteristic is that he has just one eye.”

Despite Lunn’s assertions, the SEC says that no individual resembling Perello has been identified or located.
And the reason this is coming back up, a quick hit from the accounting mavens at Going Concern, February 13:

Court Enters Final Judgment Against Geoffrey H. Lunn for Role in Elaborate Investment Hoax
I don’t recall hearing about this case featuring Geoffrey Lunn, who was sentenced to jail in 2014, but, yes, this final judgment from the SEC has a few details of his elaborate hoax. Through his phony investment firm, Dresdner Financial, Lunn stole $5 million. “Lunn did not invest any of the funds. He instead gave $848,500 to three Las Vegas call girls, withdrew over $1 million in cash and money transfers, made a $1 million Ponzi-like payment to a favored investor, paid over $1.3 million to individuals who helped market the fraudulent scheme, and used the remaining funds to pay for personal and business expenses.” Lunn even tried to blame it all on a one-eyed man, which he must’ve come up with after watching The Fugitive for the billionth time, and didn’t want to make it too obvious.
Court Enters Final Judgment Against Geoffrey H. Lunn for Role in Elaborate Investment Hoax
Litigation Release No. 24043 / February 12, 2018