Feds charge Conn. man with running a Ponzi scheme for 12 years

Federal authorities today charged a Connecticut man with running a Ponzi scheme that allegedly bilked investors out of $20 million over nearly 12 years. Mr. Goldberg ran an investment business called Acquisitions Unlimited Group from his former home in Wethersfield, according to a complaint filed by the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Connecticut in Hartford. Mr. Goldberg told prospective investors that AUG was in the business of liquidating assets held by JPMorgan Chase & Co., the complaint alleges. Specifically, Mr. Goldberg is said to have claimed that AUG purchased material and equipment foreclosed on by the bank and then resold it to other companies. The government contends that Mr. Goldberg never had a relationship with JPMorgan Chase. Prosecutors say he persuaded investors to invest in his company by promising — and at times paying — up to 20 percent quarterly returns, but paid old investors with funds from new investors. Between 1997 and 2009, more than 100 investors provided Mr. Goldberg with funds for the alleged scheme. According to The Hartford Courant, two victims have already filed a lawsuit against Mr. Goldberg. That suit claims the supposed scheme at AUG began unraveling in August, when a supposed deal to sell construction material to Bechtel Corp. fell through. Eventually, Mr. Goldberg turned himself in to authorities. The criminal complaint charges him with using interstate wires to further the fraudulent scheme. If convicted of the charge, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.