6. J. David & Company Ponzi Scheme
Year: 1979-1984
Approx. Amount: $80 Million*
Company / Person Involved: J. David Dominelli
In 1979, David “Jerry” Dominelli opened J. David & Company with the promise of a high return on investments in the foreign exchange market. Over the next 5 years, Dominelli was able to convince nearly 1,500 people to invest in the notoriously volatile sector and, by 1984, declared bankruptcy, having lost investors close to $80 million.
David & Company Ponzi Scheme ©Bjoern Wylezich / Shutterstock.com
A year after his company declared bankruptcy, J. David Dominelli plead guilty to multiple charges, including income tax evasion, mail fraud, and bankruptcy fraud in 1985, and received a 20-year sentence, of which he served a little more than half, as he was paroled after 10.5 years.