Show Notes
Forsage.io Founders Indicted: Exploring Cryptocurrencies as Potential Ponzi Schemes
In this episode we unravel the Forsage.io scandal, revealing its founders' shocking indictment by the DOJ in February 2023. Originally flagged by the SEC in August 2022, Forsage.io, a DeFi crypto company, orchestrated transactions exceeding $340 million over two years, yet investigations unveiled its lack of legitimate offerings, surviving solely on unwitting investors' contributions. Join us as we dissect this unfolding saga and delve deep into the contentious debate surrounding whether cryptocurrencies inherently harbor the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme.
Follow us on Twitter...errr X: https://linktr.ee/ponziplaybook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More from The Ponzi Playbook
This is an Interview with a man convicted of a Ponzi scheme. It originally aired on the PRETEND podcast.
What happens after the feds kick in your door?
What if you could create thousands of songs using AI… and make millions off them without a single fan? That’s exactly what prosecutors say Michael Smith did.
When the FBI raided financial advisor Dawn Bennett’s luxury penthouse in 2017, they expected to find evidence of fraud. What they didn’t expect? Freezers packed with mason jars—each containing a severed cow tongue, labeled with the initials of SEC attorneys investigating her. Bennett, once a well-respected investment advisor, promised her clients 15% annual returns. Instead, she drained millions from retirees and funneled the cash into her lavish lifestyle—funding high-end fashion, $100K in cosmetic treatments, and nearly $1 million in payments to Hindu priests she believed could perform rituals to keep investigators at bay. In this episode, we unravel the bizarre world of Dawn Bennett’s Ponzi scheme—where financial fraud meets mysticism. From luxury sportswear investments that never paid off to occult rituals designed to silence her enemies, this case proves that some con artists will try anything to keep the scam alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A guaranteed 10% return in just 90 days—sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it was. In this episode, we investigate Todd Burkhalter and Drive Planning, a Georgia-based financial firm that promised real estate-backed investments but instead ran a massive $372 million Ponzi scheme. Hosts Javier and Neal expose how Burkhalter and his team lured in over 2,000 investors, convinced them to hand over their life savings, and then used their cash to fuel an extravagant lifestyle—complete with private jets, luxury vacations, and a $3.1M yacht named Live More. We break down the tactics he used, the warning signs investors ignored, and how the SEC finally unraveled the scheme. Plus, we dig into exclusive testimony from Drive Planning’s executives—including some incredibly shady responses (or lack thereof) during questioning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices