State: Man who said Holy Spirit guided him ran Ponzi scheme
Jun 2, 2015, 9:24 AM
BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts secretary of state’s office says a man who told investors that the Holy Spirit guided his trading system has been charged with running a Ponzi scheme.
Secretary of State William Galvin said in a complaint filed Tuesday that Uxbridge resident Charles Erickson defrauded at least 25 investors out of about $3.5 million.
Authorities say about a third of those recruited for the program attended the same church as Erickson, who claimed the Holy Spirit had given him a proprietary day-trading system for a volatile type of futures contract. Authorities say he guaranteed returns of 96 percent over two years.
Galvin says Erickson was paying monthly returns using capital reserves deposited by later investors.
A woman who answered the phone at Erickson’s home said they had no comment.
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