Get-Rich-Quick Schemes In United States

In the wake of the financial tsunami that erupted last year in September, to date, two fraudulent schemes operating on high, quick returns basis to lure investors into parking their bucks have been probed and subsequently charged in United States.

The first bombshell stunning the whole world was Madoff who operates a Ponzi scheme, allegedly to have conned unsuspecting investors of billion dollars.

Two days ago, Texas billionaire Allen Stanford was suspected to have been involved in a fraudulent multi-billion dollars investment scheme centering on an $8 billion CD (Certificates of Deposits) programme. The promise, again, was on lucrative returns at much higher rates than that offered by banks. Allen Stanford is presently facing a charge in court.

The above fraudulent financial schemes are quite similar to the get-rich-quick pyramid schemes sweeping over Malaysia about eight years ago. Not less than one million Malaysians were lured into the schemes, ending up with majority of them losing hard-earned savings. Some eloquent-tongued sales agents tried to talk me into taking up the schemes, but I held back since the schemes were economically illogical.