A federal complaint accuses William Apostelos and wife Connie Apostelos of running a Ponzi scheme involving 450 investors and losses of more than $30 million.
William Apostelos and his wife Connie are reportedly under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for operating a massive Ponzi scheme that is believed to have duped at least 213 victims out of tens of millions of dollars. According to an affidavit submitted by an FBI agent in a federal forfeiture proceeding, authorities believe probable cause exists to suspect that William Apostelos, his wife Connie Apostelos, Scott Doak, and Rebekah Fairchild were involved in the scheme together.
Allegations against the couple originally came out last fall when federal officials accused Mr. and Mrs. Apostelos of stealing more than $50 million from approximately 160 investors in the Miami area.
The affidavit reveals new details about the couple and their alleged scheme, including allegations that they spent $35,000 a month on the wife’s horse racing business and accusations that the husband took approximately $17 million from his investors and placed it in his personal bank accounts. The affidavit also details the lengths the couple allegedly went to in order to hide their misconduct and fend off aggrieved investors.
The affidavit also detailed the alleged pitches that were made to various investors. For example, one investor was allegedly told that his $395,000 investment would be used to purchase an Ohio farm that would be quickly resold at a profit. In another example, a victim was allegedly told that his $100,000 investment would be used to invest in stocks through a TD Ameritrade account and was provided a TD Ameritrade website where he could track his investment. However, the affidavit alleged that the TD Ameritrade website provided to the victim was not a real trading account, but instead a training account program that did not trade real money.Apostelos also faces a separate forced bankruptcy and a civil case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Despite the accusations that have been brought against the couple, there have been no criminal charges filed yet. When asked about an indictment, the assistant U.S. attorney could neither confirm nor deny if one is pending.
