Ponzi Scheme Targeted Blacks, SEC Says

PASADENA (CN) – The CEO of a bogus real estate investment company targeted black people in an $18 million Ponzi scheme, claiming they would get rich by helping people avoid foreclosures, the SEC claims in Federal Court.     Jeanetta Standefor, president of Accelerated Funding Group, took money from nearly 600 victims in California, Georgia and Nevada, the SEC says. Standefor, of Altadena, promised 50 percent returns from the foreclosure “rescues,” but never bought any property, the SEC says. She used $12 million to pay off earlier investors, spent $1.9 million on her wedding, honeymoon, cars and jewelry, and gave her new husband $121,000 in “consulting fees,” according to the complaint.     At one of Standefor’s pitches, 10 of the 100 intended victims were Los Angeles police officers, the SEC says. She allegedly promised them rich returns on virtually risk-free investments.

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