Real Life Regulators: Financial Fraud

In today's episode, The Preacher and the Mistress, we will learn how an elderly preacher and his mistress used his Texas-based Christian radio talk show to steal over $30 million from his older listeners. He used his faith-based approach to convince his loyal listeners to invest their lifetime savings in his fraudulent, risk-free products. In return for his devastating financial scheme, he received more than three life sentences, and the mistress received a life sentence for their deceitful act.

Today we’re diving into the world of finfluencers – social media personalities who dish out financial advice – sometimes with risky consequences for investors. With expert guests John Eichkorn and Sammy Wu, we’ll explore how to spot misleading content, avoid investment scams, and find trustworthy sources for your financial decisions. If you’ve ever thought about taking money tips from TikTok or Instagram, this is one episode you won’t want to miss.If you would like more information about finfluencers, you can read the Informed Investor Advisory: Finfluencers located here.The advisory as produced by NASAA’s Investor Education Alerts and Advisory Project Group. 

Scams involving cryptocurrency, social media apps, and marketing tactics designed to play on emotions made NASAA’s 2025 annual list of top investor threats. In today’s special episode of Real-Life Regulators, we are joined by Amanda Senn, Director of the Alabama Securities Commission, and she also serves as NASAA’s Enforcement Section Chair. She will share how to detect, protect, and report these scams, and hopefully, after listening to this episode, you will be able to avoid these threats.

From award-winning dairy to devastating deception. Trickling Springs Creamery, a beacon of East Coast goodness, hid a chilling secret. Philip Riehl, one of their own, used the sacred trust of his Amish and Mennonite community to build a multi-million dollar lie. He milked more than cows, draining the life savings of his Amish and Mennonite neighbors. How did a simple promise of prosperity become a web of deceit, where faith was the ultimate weapon? The creamery's success? A mirage. The truth? A bitter lesson in the fragility of trust, even among the faithful.

Today’s episode has a very fitting title “The Lone Wolf”.  Gregory Lone was truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Lone purchased a long-standing insurance company based in Wenatchee, Washington, and he specifically targeted older customers who were looking to invest in annuities to help provide a stable financial future. Instead, he stole from seven older investors to help feed his Ponzi scheme putting their financial future in question.

Today’s episode is the final part of the three-part series titled “Hatching from the Egg to Creating Your Own Nest Egg.” Retirement is a goal we all have, and we all hope to obtain one day.This concluding episode will focus on those who are approaching – or are already – in retirement, and will discuss common pitfalls, misconceptions, obstacles and fraud that target hard-earned nest eggs. You’ve worked hard to build your nest egg - Now, protect it!

Today’s episode is part two of a three-part series titled “Hatching from the Egg to Creating Your Own Nest Egg.” This part will focus on the Sandwich Generation. These are the adults that are caring for young kids, older parents, and themselves. During this episode, we will discuss common pitfalls, misconceptions, and the schemes and scams that this generation faces regarding their finances and their future.

Today’s episode is part one of a three-part series titled “Hatching from the Egg to Creating Your Own Nest Egg”. Part one will focus on young adults. Young Adults have so much time to prepare for retirement, but the best time to start planning your future is yesterday. We will discuss common pitfalls, misconceptions, obstacles, and fraud that many young people face regarding finances and their future, 

Today’s podcast is a special episode that was recorded live during the 2024 NASAA Investor Education Training. We talked with representatives from the Ontario Securities Commission and discussed the downfall of crypto asset trading platform Quadriga. Clients entrusted their assets to Quadriga, which provided false assurances that those assets would be safeguarded. In reality, Quadriga’s CEO Gerry Cotten spent, traded and used those assets at will. Gerry Cotten was able to misuse client assets for years, unchecked and undetected, ultimately bringing down the entire platform.

Today’s episode, “Silver Lined Lies,” was recorded live during the 2023 NASAA Investor Education Conference. We discussed how a small Utah coin shop owner used his storefront to execute the largest Ponzi scheme in Utah history! He did not use an elaborate marketing campaign to advertise his risk-free opportunity but relied on word of mouth to spread his tarnished scheme. The fraud went on for multiple decades as he stole over $200 million from about 500 investors!

Many of us currently use virtual communication platforms on a regular basis to communicate with colleagues, customers, friends, and family members. In today’s episode, “Failure to Launch,” our guests will discuss an investigation involving an individual who, starting as early as 2006, raised over $25 million dollars from investors to establish a virtual communication platform that never came to fruition. The platform failed to launch NOT because of a weak internet connection, but because of his fraudulent actions.Though the discussion is based on an actual investigation, please note that certain names, facts, and information have been modified for education and entertainment purposes. Also, the views expressed by the speakers are their own personal views and do not represent the views of the State Corporation Commission or other personnel.

Today’s podcast is the concluding episode of our Rotten Tomatoes story. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, we encourage you do to so before you listen to this episode. Rotten Tomatoes details how a career conman stole over two million dollars in less than six months from Alabama investors. He fooled people into investing in his tomato business, but the deal was simply not real. We talk to the prosecutor, investigator and an agriculture journalist that covered the case in great detail.

Today’s podcast is part 1 of a 2-part episode called Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes details how a career conman stole over 2 million dollars in less than 6 months from Alabama investors. He fooled people into investing in his tomato business, but the deal was simply not real. We talk to the prosecutor, investigator and an agriculture journalist that covered the case in great detail.

This episode concludes our special three-part series that explores the different “frontiers” of fraud – from the early days of investing and the origins of the Blue captiSky Law, to the “Wild, Wild West” of nontraditional investments within The Metaverse.Our guest is Joseph Rotunda, NASAA Enforcement Section Committee Vice-Chair and Texas State Securities Board Enforcement Division Director. Joseph discusses the next frontier of investment fraud.

This episode is the second of our special three-part series that explores the different “frontiers” of fraud – from the early days of investing and the origins of the Blue Sky Law, to the “Wild, Wild West” of nontraditional investments within The Metaverse.Our guest is Lori J. Schock, Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. Lori discusses investment fraud that takes place in modern times.

Before there was digital currency, there was physical currency. Before there was physical currency, there was barter and trade. And if “necessity is the mother of invention,” then the necessity of exchanging currency for goods and services means there was an opportunity for the invention of fraud. Fast forward to today, and investment fraud has remained a constant occurrence – only the tactics continue to change.  Join us for a special three-part series that explores the different “frontiers” of fraud – from the early days of investing and the origins of the Blue Sky Law, to the “Wild, Wild West” of nontraditional investments within The Metaverse.This episode is the first part, “The ‘Wild West’ of Investing and Origins of the Blue Sky Law.”Our guests are Dan Klucas, Kansas Securities Commissioner, and Tom Treacy, the Public Information Officer for the Kansas Insurance Department. Dan and Tom will discuss the history of Blue Sky Laws in Kansas.

Today’s episode is the concluding episode featuring the Salsa Swindler. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, we encourage you do so before listening to this episode. The Salsa Swindler is a career criminal who started a long-distance relationship with lady who had accumulated some nice savings. However, lies and deceit are the key to his salsa recipe when he sets his eyes on her money to fund his alleged business. We talk to the investigators who worked the case and the actual victim. She courageously shares her viewpoint to help others avoid being burned by fraudsters like the Salsa Swindler.

Today’s episode is part one of a two-part episode featuring the Salsa Swindler, a career criminal who started a long-distance relationship with lady who had accumulated some nice savings. However, lies and deceit are the key to his salsa recipe when he sets his eyes on her money to fund his alleged business. We talk to the investigators who worked the case and the actual victim. She courageously shares her viewpoint to help others avoid being burned by fraudsters like the Salsa Swindler.

Today's episode will focus on a Ponzi scheme case with many twists and turns involving a narcissist who will even pitch an investment idea to the prosecutors, fires his defense attorney during the trial, and asks for a life sentence, just to name a few. A Ponzi scheme is when you take a new investor's money to pay back previous investors. The mastermind behind this Ponzi scheme was a longtime investment advisor who owned a dry-cleaning business and hoped to open a doggie daycare but ended up taking over 1.7 million dollars from about five victims.