Now that's a Ponzi Scheme!
Charles E. Edwards, the founder of ETS Payphones, has been ordered by a Judge not to violate "Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Edwards consented to the entry of the final judgment without admitting or denying any of the allegations of the Commission's Complaint."
Now since according to the SEC's complaint, "alleged that Edwards and ETS engaged in fraud in the offer and sale of unregistered securities in the form of investment contracts, and alleged that the defendants promoted a massive fraudulent scheme through the use of insurance agents and over the internet, in which ETS raised more than $300 million from more than 10,000 investors. The investments involved the sale of payphones, which were leased back from the investors in exchange for a fixed rate of return. In fact, the investment program was a Ponzi scheme. On February 23, 2006, Edwards was sentenced to 13 years incarceration and restitution of $320,397,837 based on his earlier conviction on 83 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering." (my emphasis) was there any reason to close this barn door so long after the horse had left? Perhaps it has to do with recovering ETS fund for all those investors, in which nothing was delivered to the investors by the receiver.
Technorati Tags: ets payphones, securities exchange act, securities act of 1933, edwards, ponzi scheme, securities exchange act of 1934, investors, sale, investment contracts, investment program, final judgment, insurance agents, fraudulent, sentenced
