Nicholas Cosmo

Federal authorities say an upstate New York businessman has been charged with bilking oil and natural gas investors in a six-year Ponzi scheme that took in an estimated $35 million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley Tyler says that 71-year-old Ashvin Zaveri is believed to have returned $30 million to $31 million to keep the scheme going from April 2003 to March 2009. He says Zaveri pocketed the remainder. Zaveri pleaded not guilty Thursday to fraud and money laundering. A judge gave his lawyer two months to review evidence seized by authorities. The FBI and the Internal Revenue Service have been investigating Zaveri's business dealings for ... Read Full Story

A Denver man allegedly defrauded people in a national Ponzi scheme involving more than $12 million that was supposed to go real estate investments, the Colorado securities commissioner said. Investigators contend Jerrald Green, 48, used investors' money to buy condos for himself in downtown Denver and to open two brokerage accounts, which incurred substantial losses. Commissioner Fred J. Joseph said Tuesday in a complaint filed in Denver District Court that Green received $12.5 million from investors, but only about $4.9 million of those funds were ever invested. None of the investments have yielded a substantial return, and Green used money from new investors to ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged four individuals and two companies with running a $30 million Ponzi scheme that targeted elderly investors and people nearing retirement who were seeking environmentally friendly investments. In a civil lawsuit filed Monday in Denver federal court, the SEC accused Mantria Corp of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania and its principals Troy Wragg and Amanda Knorr of raising $122 million from more than 300 investors nationwide in a dozen fraudulent securities offerings. The SEC said Mantria enlisted Speed of Wealth LLC, a Centennial, Colorado firm run by Wayde and Donna McKelvy, to encourage investors to liquidate ... Read Full Story

Federal regulators have accused four people and two companies of fraud in an alleged $30 million Ponzi scheme that lured 300 investors nationwide in purported eco-friendly investments. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges Wayde McKelvy and Donna McKelvy, who were married, used their Centennial, Colo.-based company Speed of Wealth to find investors for Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based Mantria Corp. The SEC filed a complaint in federal court Monday in Denver alleging the McKelvys and Mantria executives Troy Wragg and Amanda Knorr of Philadelphia overstated Mantria's successes to lure investors. Wragg and Knorr didn't return a phone message seeking comment. Donna McKelvy's voice mail wasn't accepting ... Read Full Story

A federal judge is considering a request by prosecutors to revoke bail for a New York businessman accused of orchestrating a $413 million Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors contend Nicholas Cosmo violated conditions of his release. He was released in July on a $1.25 million bail package. He was to remain under house arrest at his parent's Wantagh (WAHN'-tah) home, which includes monitoring by a private security firm. Prosecutors say Cosmo broke the rules by using a computer, asking his girlfriend to access the Internet for him and by trying to sell an expensive watch. Cosmo is the former head of the Long Island-based Agape (uh-GAH'-pay) ... Read Full Story