Calypso Financial and Other Caribbean Ponzi Schemes: Bad Spellling a Tip-Off?
The Commission has filed a civil action seeking a permanent injunction against Calypso Financial, LLC, Emilee Petersen Golding (Petersen) and six other entities in connection with Calypso and Petersen's fraudulent offers and sales of approximately $20 million in notes. The Court also froze the assets of Calypso, Petersen, the six other defendants and the assets of the three relief defendants, all of which are related to Petersen, for a period of 14 days.
The complaint alleges the defendants have obtained investments of at least $20 million from the fraudulent offering of notes issued by Calypso and the other six entities, all of which are controlled by Petersen. The defendants allegedly promised returns to investors of 4% to 15% a month ostensibly through investments in real estate. However, it is alleged that the defendants actually operated a Ponzi scheme in which returns paid to earlier investors were paid from funds invested by new investors. It is also alleged that Petersen made a variety of misrepresentations to investors in the offer of notes issued by her companies including: (1) funds invested in the notes would be used to develop real estate or invest in other business ventures; and (2) the high rates of return were the result of her successful operations. The Commission's complaint further alleges that Petersen provided fictitious financial statements to investors to solicit their funds. Finally, it is alleged that the defendants' operations generated only minimal income, investor funds were used primarily to pay the high interest due to other noteholders, and that Petersen used some of the invested funds to make personal investments for herself and to lease three cars and to pay for cosmetic surgery."
According to the complaint, Petersen "Petersen marketed Calypso as the financial arm of a group of world class companies that focus on the acquisition, development, management and "monetarization" of real estate, hard assets and the placement of private investment funds in real estate developments, international finance, water
rights, precious metal excavating and stock and futures trading."
Monetarization? Yeah, well maybe that explains the cosmetic surgery.
