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“Podcast Host Busted for Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme!

An influential podcast host who had dubbed himself the “Cash Flow King” was charged on Thursday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for running an approximately 11 million-dollar Ponzi scheme. Jarrell “Jay” Peterson, 45, the head of The Wealth Standard, a financial education company, perpetrated the scheme through a series of investments and misrepresentations. “As the Commission’s complaint alleges, Jay Peterson lied to individuals who invested their hard-earned and sometimes retirement money through his company, The Wealth Standard,” Lori J. Schock, Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, said in a press release. He allegedly used some of the funds to support his own lavish lifestyle. Peterson’s scheme reportedly lasted from January 2016 to October 2019 and attracted dozens of investors, who gave more than 11 million dollars to The Wealth Standard. Peterson seemingly told his investors that they were buying “Bridge Notes” which would fund projects, with a return of between five and 15 percent annually, depending on when the investors elected to take their principal back. But, in actuality, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Peterson was not actually investing the funds. He had instead simply used the funds, for the most part, to pay his own salary and fund his own lifestyle. He also made payments of seemingly interest and principal payments to some investors, but those payments were simply coming from the money from new investors. He engaged in a classic Ponzi scheme. The SEC is now seeking an asset freeze, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties from Peterson. In light of this incident, it’s important to be aware that investments come with a certain level of risk, that fraudulent schemes quite often take the form of Ponzi schemes, and that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. So, do your own research for any investment opportunities you come across.