JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Seven people in Missouri fell victim to a nationwide Ponzi scheme, prompting the Missouri Secretary of State to order the company to cease and desist.
The Secretary of State alleges the company Golden Genesis, Inc., committed fraud in offering and selling unregistered securities to investors in Missouri. Golden Genesis is based in Nevada and California.
Between April 2016 and September 2019, the company issued more than $9 million in unregistered, non-exempt securities in the form of promissory notes through a Las Vegas-based unregistered broker-dealer, Retire Happy LLC, according to a press release from the Missouri Secretary of State's Jay Ashcroft's office.
Unregistered securities were sold to more than 240 investors across the country, including seven Missouri investors who are from St. Peters, Pleasant Hill, Crane, Hillsboro, Independence and Catawissa. They sustained "significant losses" on their investments, the release said. Four of the Missouri victims were elderly.
The company lured investors with promises of high returns and used sales materials containing false and misleading statements regarding plans to establish and operate blood centers under the tradename NuPlasma, the release said. However, the company ran a Ponzi scheme using investor funds to pay prior investors.
“Don’t be persuaded by flashy brochures and elaborate presentations,” Ashcroft said in the release. “Always check out anyone who solicits investment opportunities before parting with your hard-earned money. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. When in doubt, contact our office before investing.”
The Secretary of State ordered the people involved in the company, Thomas Casey, Dennis Di Ricco, Cynthia Wade, to show cause why they should not be ordered to pay restitution plus interest, civil penalties and investigation costs totaling more than $1 million.
Consumers who want to question an investment opportunity or wish to check the background and registration status of a financial adviser may call the toll-free investor protection hotline at 800-721-7996, or go online to missouriprotectsinvestors.com to file a complaint.
