ASIC warned this week that a new wave of pump and dump scams is moving through Australian phones, wearing the faces of trusted economists and running through group chats that feel like a favor from a friend. Sixteen people learned what the favor cost.
A Naples man was sentenced to four years for draining $1.26 million from an elderly Hurricane Ian victim through a contractor scheme that kept running after her husband died, after she sold the house, after she moved into assisted living.
For three decades, Miles Burton Marshall did taxes for his neighbors in Hamilton, New York, and sold them shares in something he called the Eight Percent Fund. On June 11, 2026, a judge entered $85 million in judgments against him for 988 people who thought they had savings.
Richard Cody ran a twelve-year deception against retired clients in Massachusetts, sending them monthly deposits and fabricated tax forms while their retirement accounts emptied. He pleaded guilty. Two of his clients had nothing left.
Vincent Camarda built A.G. Morgan Financial Advisors in a Massapequa storefront and steered at least $138 million of his clients' retirement money into a Philadelphia Ponzi, a western mining bet, and his son's coffee startup. On April 3, 2026, he pleaded guilty.