South Florida, where Ponzi scheme convictions are as common as jaywalking tickets. The latest Miami man at the center of a collapsed phony empire is Oscar Hernandez. While relatively small compared to other cases, Hernandez's $3 million scheme operated in classic Ponzi scheme.
Through his companies Midway Trading Company LLC and The Conquest Investment Group Inc. Hernandez targeted investors and claimed they'd get high rates of terms for their investments between 2006 and 2009. He told his investors, many of whom were friends, that he had a foolproof day-trading program and investments in commodities and overseas stock markets with 180 percent annual return. Instead, he actually lost money on his investments and merely took the money of newer investors to pay off older investors.
Well, except for the money he was using to maintain his lifestyle. Hernandez spent $1.8 million on a car, mortgage, and credit card payments according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Hernandez could face a maximum of five years in jail followed by three years of supervised released if convicted.
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