{"id":1285,"date":"2019-06-17T15:29:28","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T15:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/?p=1285"},"modified":"2019-06-17T15:29:28","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T15:29:28","slug":"are-ponzi-schemes-illegal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/are-ponzi-schemes-illegal\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Ponzi Schemes Illegal?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Ponzi scheme<\/em> is formally known as a \u201cpyramid scheme\u201d or “pyramid promotional scheme”, and it is a felony white collar crime here in Indiana. Continue reading to learn more about these crimes, including some common history facts, probable legal penalties, and what to do if you are charged with a similar fraud offense in Indiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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White Collar Criminal Defense Law Firm 317-636-7514<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Indiana Pyramid Schemes<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

A pyramid scheme is any type of operation that recruits\nparticipants who give over $100 for the opportunity to make more money by\ngetting others to also become participants. In Indiana, the law defines pyramid\nscheme promotion or involvement as \u201cpersuading one or more individuals to join\nthe scheme\u201d, or \u201chelping another person promote the scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pyramid Scheme History<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The meaning behind the colloquial term, \u201cPonzi\u201d dates back in recent history to a man named Charles A. Ponzi, an Italian-born American swindler who was infamous for paying out returns using other investor\u2019s money during the early 20th century. Although he was eventually caught and prosecuted, the immoral practice still occurs to this very day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, one of the most notorious pyramid scheme scams happened\nright here in Indiana back in 2012 when a financier named Tim Durham was\nconvicted of conning nearly 200 million dollars from elderly investors. Another\nHoosier by the name of John Marcum was charged by the Securities and Exchange\nCommission (SEC) for developing a $6 million Ponzi scheme in 2013. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pyramid Scheme Laws and Penalties<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

According to Indiana Code 24-5-0.5: Deceptive Consumer Sales\nAct, \u201cA person who founds, operates, or publicizes a pyramid scheme (a program\nwhere a participant gives over $100 for the opportunity to be compensated for\ngetting others to join the program) commits a deceptive act under the Deceptive\nConsumer Sales Act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state law allows a person to sue a Ponzi scammer in\ncivil court if they suffered more than $500 in damages. The court, however, has\nfull discretion to award 3 times the actual damages, or $1,000, as well as,\nlawyer fees, court costs, and even punitive damages for particularly egregious\nscams. Additionally, the law allows victims to join together and file a class\naction lawsuit against the pyramid scheme offender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pyramid Scheme Charges <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

If a person is charged with a pyramid scheme offense in\nIndiana, they face being convicted of one or more types of white collar crimes,\nincluding theft, money laundering, securities fraud, conspiracy, and more. It\nall depends on the details and scope of their offense. The common penalties\nthat come along with such convictions include jail time, large fines, community\nservice, probation, parole, house arrest, and restitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indiana White Collar Crime Legal Defense<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To best protect your rights and preserve your freedoms, you must have a seasoned and aggressive Indiana white collar criminal defense lawyer<\/a> on your side, building you an impactful and strong case so that you can avoid the maximum penalties for your criminal charges. Call the Law Office of David E. Lewis at 317-636-7514<\/strong> to schedule a free initial consultation and case evaluation with a licensed Indiana criminal defense lawyer you can trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Ponzi scheme is formally known as a \u201cpyramid scheme\u201d or “pyramid promotional scheme”, and it is a felony white collar crime here in Indiana. Continue reading to learn more about these crimes, including some common history facts, probable legal … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,25,229,467],"tags":[540,763,764,766,765,470],"class_list":["post-1285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-felony-charges","category-fraud-crime-charges","category-theft-charges","category-white-collar-crimes","tag-indianapolis-white-collar-crime-lawyer","tag-ponzi-scheme-facts","tag-ponzi-scheme-law-indiana","tag-pyramid-scheme-charges-indiana","tag-pyramid-scheme-law-indiana","tag-white-collar-crimes-indiana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1285"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1289,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285\/revisions\/1289"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}