A Novato businessman was charged by federal authorities with allegedly running a large Ponzi scheme that defrauded hundreds of investors.
Kenneth Casey and his associate, Lewis Wallach” were charged with conspiracy to defraud 1,300 individuals who invested in Professional Financial Investors Inc (PFI) and Professional Investors Security Fund Inc. (PISF).
Casey died last spring. Lewis has served as PFI’s CEO since 1998.
“We allege that PFI became a classic Ponzi scheme,” U.S. Attorney David Anderson said in announcing the charges Tuesday. “Money taken from new investors was allegedly used to pay existing investors while losses mounted behind the scenes. This alleged Ponzi scheme came crashing down just four months ago after the death of PFI’s founder in May 2020. We allege that for years Wallach conspired with PFI’s founder to fool investors.”
The charges can be found here.
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