One of the things that made Bernie Madoff's schemes work was that he followed through on a lot of details, issuing sophisticated reports to his clients so they wouldn't suspect the numbers were all made up. We have a junior-league Madoff here in New Jersey, a man from Spring Lake who sold unsuspecting investors shares in a company that barely even existed.
The company was called Digital Gas. The swindler, Brian Smith, concocted phony press releases that he posted on the Internet to deceive the investors into thinking that there was actual demand for its shares. Digital Gas was once a real company, a supposed incubator for energy businesses, but it has had no revenues or even bank accounts since at least 2006.
That didn't stop Smith from portraying it as a viable business - and getting penny-stock investors to believe him. This week, Smith was ordered to pay over $5 million in penalties and restitution. The wonder is that there were enough gullible investors willing to give him so money. Your investments are critically important to your future and that of your family, and it saddens me to see people not treat them with all the care and preparation they deserve.
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