Beau Diamond arrested and charged with $37 million Ponzi scheme

A month ago I published details of the alleged Ponzi Scheme Ponzi Scheme A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and Read this Term operated by Beau Diamond who appeared to have lost over $38 millions of investors money and then disappeared.

Reuters reports that yesterday he was finally arrested and charged.

A Florida man has been arrested on charges he ran a $37 million Ponzi scheme that guaranteed customers a monthly return of up to 5 percent on money invested in foreign exchange trading, authorities said on Thursday.

Beau Diamond, a 31-year-old resident of Sarasota, was arrested late Wednesday based on a complaint against him and his Diamond Ventures LLC trading firm from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida said.

Since April 2006, the complaint said, Diamond solicited about $37 million from at least 200 clients "for the purported purpose of trading off-exchange foreign currency (Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term) contracts."

Diamond suffered sizable losses through his trades in foreign currency, the complaint said. But he delivered, at least in part, on his "guaranteed monthly returns" of 2.75 percent to 5 percent by allegedly making fraudulent use of customers' deposits.

The CFTC complaint said Diamond, who was charged with operating a Ponzi scheme, offered commissions to clients who referred new customers to Diamond Ventures. He was being held pending a court hearing in Tampa on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Tom Brown; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)