Suffern, NY – Prosecutors say an 80-year-old New York woman and her son are accused of a Ponzi scheme that scammed 75 people of $10 million.
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Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe says the pair of Monsey convinced their victims — mostly neighbors and relatives — to invest in their company, NHI Metals Ltd.
They were charged with grand larceny on Tuesday.
Their attorney did not return a call for comment; her son’s lawyer declined to comment.
Zugibe says the duo told customers their money would be invested in European “bank notes” or “metal securities.”
Authorities believe the Barneys kept most of the money, paying out only monthly interest payments to some investors.
Prosecutors believe the alleged scheme was launched in 2006 and continued until this week.
An elderly 80 year old woman cheating her neighbors, nebech.
hashem yirachaim!
I know Mr Barney very well. I also know a few people who lost all their savings b/c of him. But I know for a fact that it’s not so simple. He really had some type of investment plan but it didn’t work out the way he thought it would. His mother is just entangled in this mess b/c she was trying to help him.
Gee when my grandmother was in her 80’s the worst thing she did was take a few extra rolls at the senior residence. This story if true is very sad and even worse if they are proven guilty.
Actually, we are all guilty. I have no clue how a Ponzi scheme works, and have no business sense to grasp it (so don’t bother to comment with an explanation). The issue here is the effort to create income through some form of dishonesty. There are so many Torah violations here. The lying is one major one. The stealing someone else’s money is another. The chilul Hashem is yet another, as these arrests and convictions make all Yidden look bad. Whatever happened to the values of Yir’as Hashem that we supposedly teach? Doesn’t the mishna in Pirkei Avos (Perek 2) speak specifically about the eye that sees all, the ear that hears all, and the written record (divine) that exists? Which fool thinks they will get away with everything? Sooner or later, the sun shines on the aveiros, and the shame ends up on everyone. These culprits are just a focal point. But the general condition of Klal Yisroel is so sad. May HKB”H redeem us quickly.
Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? People who steal are wrong, but people who judge others are wrong too.
I wanted to point out that anyone who invests their money by a friend or neighbor is also at fault. You should only invest by a well established company, bank etc..
Authorities believe the Barneys kept most of the money, paying out only monthly interest payments to some investors.
Believe? What ever happened to evidence before someone is arrested? Most likely this is nothing more than legitimate investments gone bad, but they will get them on some technicality not related to the investment and/or supposed embezzlement.
#3 and #10 : Its Berney not Barney
Friends and relatives.. huh
how can all of u that assume their guilty possibly judge that they intetionally ripped people off what happened to being dan likaf zchus I cant believe so many people respond this way its not what you’d expect from bnei torah which i would hope u strive to be
if anyone had emuna they wouldnt do any of these ponzi schemes..
hasogos for more and more gashmius makes people do things they would never think of doing if they were in a sane society where the main thrust is Torah and mitzvos. Those who flaunt their wealth and those who spend many many thousands on a Pesach hotel or similar pursuit actually help create an environment that has greater yetzer hora to bring in money even ilegally. This was unfortunately wide-spread in one particular community a while back. May Hashem be mashlim the lost of those innocents who suffered losses. It is high time for highly placed Admorim and Rabbonim to cry from the tish and pulpit – DO NOT STEAL!!!