3 convicted of running $33M Ponzi scheme

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Three people have been found guilty of running a Ponzi scheme that bilked more than two dozen investors in the United States, Germany and Costa Rica out of $33 million. After a four-week trial in federal court in Rochester, a jury convicted Gail Eldridge, Paul Knight and John Montana of 13 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering for running the investment scam from July 1999 to July 2001. Each of the 27 victims lost at least $1 million. Two lived in Germany and Costa Rica and the others in New York, Florida, Mississippi, Oregon, Michigan, Oklahoma, California and Washington state. None of the money was recovered, but the jury determined Wednesday after two days of deliberations that the defendants must forfeit more than $22 million in property and cash, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret Puschek said in... [read full story]