Meyer Wilson founding attorney David Meyer will take part in a presentation discussing the Ponzi scheme run by William Apostelos, which cost 500 people more than $32 million. Apostelos is currently serving 15 years in prison for this scheme.
The presentation, “The Anatomy of an Enforcement Case” is part of the 2018 Ohio Securities Conference on October 26 that will be held at the Westin Downtown Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. More information on the event can be found on the official website here.
The presentation will cover Apostelos’ scam, which convinced victims that it was necessary to open new accounts with a “self-directed IRA custodian.” These custodians specialize in unconventional investment vehicles – the very type of investments most often utilized by fraudsters. After Apostelos’ Ponzi scheme fell apart, a number of victims brought a civil case against two of the self-directed IRA custodians in federal court. They alleged that the companies participated and aided in the sale of illegal securities in violation of the Ohio Securities Act. Mr. Meyer’s law firm was not involved in the federal court civil case.
The defrauded investors lost their initial case in the trial court and then appealed to the federal appeals court. That court in turn certified a question to the Ohio Supreme Court, asking if self-directed IRA custodians could be held liable under Ohio’s Securities laws for participating or aiding in the illegal sale of securities.
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While Meyer Wilson did not represent the defrauded investors in this case, he filed an Amicus Brief with the Ohio Supreme Court on behalf of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association. The court’s final opinion in Boyd v. Kingdom Trust Co., Slip Opinion No. 2018-Ohio-3156 can be found here (PDF). David Meyer will discuss the decision of the Ohio Supreme Court during this presentation, as well as the impact that decision may have on other Main Street investors in Ohio.
Joining Mr. Meyer in the presentation is Brent Tabacchi, Assistant United States Attorney for Southern District of Ohio, and Laurel Vant, Special Agent, Internal Revenue Service.
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