Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Ponzi schemes are not limited to the likes of convicted felon Bernard Madoff. A similar plan to defraud real estate investors occurred right here in Sacramento during the past five years.
In the past week lawsuits have been filed in both federal and state courts against Christopher Jackson, Genesis Innovations, and others for real estate fraud and related illegal schemes. The federal complaint alleges that between 2005 and 2009, Jackson, using the corporate name Genesis Innovations, recruited people to invest in real estate. The complaint also alleges that he promised them a 14 percent return and persuaded them to entrust him with their retirement savings.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
A local newspaper reported that according to the complaint, Jackson received about $11 million dollars from investors but invested only abut $2.5 million in real estate. The rest of the money, the complaint alleges, was used to distribute purported investment returns and to fund Jackson’s lavish lifestyle, which included a leased Lamborghini and Range Rover, a purchased BMW, frequent meals at high-end restaurants, stays at luxury hotels and jewelry.
Investors throughout the Sacramento region invested millions of dollars with Mr. Jackson and his team, with the belief he could create outsized returns in a real estate market that, at the time, was rapidly appreciating. Such Ponzi schemes are often dependent upon potential investors wanting to jump on the bandwagon before the wheels fall off.
The Greek writer Euripides once wrote: “Man’s most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe.” As that wisdom applies here, if an investment opportunity sounds to good to be true it probably is. Walk away.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.