Agape World: More Red Flags Than An Evening At Medieval Times

Wave Your Red Flags

There’s a bull market in thieves and dirtbags…quick – create an ETF!

They just unearthed yet another Ponzi scheme, this time it’s a construction bridge loan scam called Agape World in Hauppauge, New York.

Nicholas Cosmo, an ex-broker with a boiler room past and a conviction for securities fraud, has spent the last 8 years raising hundreds of millions of dollars offering guaranteed mid-teens interest for swing loans to construction companies.  In true Long Island fashion, many of the “construction” projects involved Italian restaurants and nightclubs, and many of the shell corporations that were the “recipients” of these construction loans had the same address as Agape World itself.  On top of that, the company wasn’t registered or licensed with any regulators or authorities and it’s financials weren’t audited.

And last month, Cosmo said that the loans his clients were invested in were being extended, which is how most Ponzi’s end, btw.

More red flags than an evening at Medieval Times.

The good news is that an investor showed up in the lobby of the office building and punched him in the face.

Madoff, Schrenker, Nadel, Cosmo…the list grows with each passing week.

Disgusting.

See Also:

Dealbreaker‘s Take:  Ponzi Ponzi Ponzi!

Newsday‘s Take:  Federal Agents Raid Hauppauge Investment Firm

Art Nadel, Where Art Thou?

Girls of Ponzi 2009 Calendar