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8/29/13 Man targeted Haitians in $30-million Ponzi scheme, prosecutors say - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-haitian-ponzi-schemer-charges-20130823,0,1571711.story 1/3
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Hom e > News > Pa lm Bea ch Cou n t y News
George Louis Theodule ran scam that claimed to double investors' money,
indictment alleges
By Brett Clarkson, Sun Sentinel6:38 p.m. EDT, August 23, 2013
Man targeted fellow Haitians in $30-million Ponzi scheme, prosecutorssay
12
To thousands of his fellow Haitians in South Florida and across the U.S., George Louis
Theodule portrayed himself as a savvy financier who could double their investments.
In reality, federal prosecutors say, he was a scam artist who enriched himself and his inner
circle from a Ponzi scheme that took in $30 million.
Now, almost five years after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil
lawsuit to stop Theodule's "ongoing fraud," he faces federal criminal charges.
The counts include 36 charges of wire fraud, one count of
securities fraud and three counts of money laundering,
according to a grand jury indictment unsealed in the West
Palm Beach federal courthouse on Friday.
If convicted of all the charges, Theodule faces a maximum
of 760 years behind bars, the court documents say.
The July 2 indictment tells of a man who concocted
corporate entities and so-called investment clubs as a
foundation for the lies he peddled to thousands of victims
between July 2007 and December 2008, prosecutors allege.
According to the indictment, Theodule formed and "caused
others to form" the investment clubs in South Florida and
in other parts of the country to collect money from
investors in the Haitian community. He would claim to be
able to double their money every 30 to 90 days.
"In reality, the defendant was conducting a Ponzi scheme,"
the indictment alleges.
A Ponzi scheme refers to the fraudulent practice of soliciting investors' money, then paying
returns to them with newer investors' money instead of actual earnings, as seen in the Bernie
Madoff and Scott Rothstein cases.
Among other falsehoods, prosecutors said, Theodule claimed to have 17 years of successful
stock trading experience. The truth was he made little money from investing and didn't report
any income between 2000 and 2007, the indictment said.
He also never disclosed that millions of dollars put up by the investors ended up lining the
pockets of him and those close to him, prosecutors allege.
Jonathan E. Perlman, the Miami-based court-appointed receiver from the federal civil suit,
said the money taken in by Theodule is about $60 million. He said efforts to win
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8/29/13 Man targeted Haitians in $30-million Ponzi scheme, prosecutors say - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-haitian-ponzi-schemer-charges-20130823,0,1571711.story 2/3
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compensation for investors are ongoing.
"Virtually 100 percent of the money, he spent," Perlman said. "He blew it out in every single
way possible: lavish car collections, motorcycles, rings, Vegas trips...in every way imaginable."
Theodule, who moved from Wellington to Georgia in 2008, was ordered by a federal judge
to pay $5.5 million in March 2010 in connection with the SEC lawsuit, according to court
records.
Staff writer Jon Burstein and researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report
[email protected], 561-243-6609 or Twitter @brettclarkson_
Copy right © 2013, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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8/29/13 Man targeted Haitians in $30-million Ponzi scheme, prosecutors say - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-haitian-ponzi-schemer-charges-20130823,0,1571711.story 3/3
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Comments (7) Add / View comments | Discussion FAQ
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