ABSTRACT
The ways, manner, and means refer to what the perpetrators told their investor-victims they were investing in. Some schemes did not use financial market instruments but instead used other surprising types of investments. The scheme is classified as a Ponzi scheme in federal documents, but may also be considered mortgage fraud, insurance fraud, bank fraud, and tax fraud. Many schemes were stated to be both mortgage and real estate investment products, just mortgage, or just real estate products. Mortgage frauds have many variations. The classic form is that the perpetrator purports to be placing investors funds in a business entity that invests in real estate or mortgages but instead is fully a Ponzi scheme from the onset. The term “securities” is often used to refer to stocks, bonds, and equities. Securities are specifically defined as investment instruments that indicate partial ownership in a corporation.
