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Clyde Snow Partner Brent Baker on how investors can protect themselves from losing money to a Ponzi scheme.
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Heard about Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme where he built investors out of tens of billions of dollars.
And we've talked about.
Schemes are actually happening.
Every day in fact the SEC just shut down for others in the past few weeks worth.
At least 500 million dollars savvy investors huge companies getting socked in so how can you protect yourself.
Now -- some news you can use as -- maker partner at Clyde snow and an expert on Ponzi schemes.
They're obviously not easy to be spot I know people who have been sucked in and have lost a lot of money.
What are the main things that you look for to know that this is what's going on we you might be investing.
Hi Melissa there are actually three there are many things to look over there are three things that I think are.
Are worth raising and focusing on and certainly one of those is and then usually higher rate -- -- term.
We've heard past guests they talk about 10% annual returns I have a friend is a very wealthy investor who says that.
If somebody is continuing investment and the return exceeds 10% annually do not invest.
Although calpers -- that they're gonna make seven and a half percent -- so there you go what's another sign besides just a big return.
While another sign is is today and investment scheme that's.
Ripped from the headlines.
During the Hurricane Katrina it's.
Disaster we saw.
Loss of about Ponzi schemes involving.
You know disaster relief we've seen green energy schemes and now we're seeing a lot of Ponzi schemes relating to.
Purchasing distressed real estate certainly doesn't mean -- all investment programs involving distressed real estate are schemes which to have your guard up.
Yeah so if you have your guard up what does that mean you're suspicious how do you do a check and make sure that's not really what's going -- because in the case of Bernie Madoff he had a lot of really famous really wealthy people who had invested with him for years and years and years if you tried to do your homework in that case.
It was it was pretty hard to figure out that that's necessarily what was going on as the average investor so how do I do my homework.
It is it's very difficult to -- now -- absolute certainty but.
I can tell leave it.
First certainty the state regulators and the SEC.
They are very open to people using their online resources to.
Do some due diligence sometimes a simple Google search will let you know that there's something.
Dog G about a particular investment scheme are -- thanks so much for coming out we appreciate your time.
