Bernard Madoff targeted wealthy Jewish communities in New York’s Upper West Side and Florida’s Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale. Elsewhere in South Florida, Scott Rothstein targeted hedge funds and money managers for the (formerly) high net worth.
Allen Stanford collected a tidy sum from Jewish charities in Mexico City and Caracas as well as the occasional Ecuadorian housewife.
Ponzi perpetrators, it would seem, are great believers in niche marketing.
Consider the following recent headlines from the SEC’s enforcement division:
SEC Halts Ponzi Scheme Targeting Retired L.A. Bus Drivers
SEC Charges Miami Couple in $135 Million Ponzi Scheme Targeting Cuban-American Community
SEC Halts Fraudulent Scheme Targeting Iranian-American Community in Los Angeles
SEC Charges Three South Florida Residents Targeting Haitian-American Investors in Ponzi Scheme
SEC Charges Operators of $80 Million Ponzi Scheme Targeting Korean-Americans
Profiling – it’s not just for marketers and the TSA anymore.
Related links:
UK bosses caught up in alleged $1.2bn South African ‘Ponzi’ fraud – Telegraph
Professional athletes and their money, Ponzi edition – FT Alphaville
Another alleged Caribbean Ponzi – FT Alphaville
Nouriel Roubini is a Ponzi – FT Alphaville