A California man has been arrested on charges that his hedge fund was actually a Ponzi scheme.
Steve Wilson—a.k.a. Stefan Andre Wilson—was arrested at his Folsom home yesterday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service said. According to an affidavit in support of the complaint, Wilson’s hedge fund, variously known as the Christians in Crisis Investment Fund, Shake the Nations and Opus Capital Holdings, collected some $9 million in investments, promising 24% annual returns in exchange for a one-year lockup period.
In fact, according to authorities, Wilson used about $2 million of the money raised between March 2006 and July 2007 to pay off investors. Of the remaining balance, he allegedly lost $5.1 million in trading on the fund’s Ameritrade brokerage account, and used $1.1 million for personal expenses.
Among the items seized from Wilson were a 2007 Porsche Cayman and a Sea Ray pleasure boat.
Wilson is set to appear in Sacramento federal court this afternoon.
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