Thirty years ago I moved to Alpharetta, Georgia. Left the Big "A" and headed north up 400 to Exit 10. Best move in my life. Started a family there, then moved to the adjoining Milton, Georgia. Started a business, made a small fortune and departed in 2016. Sent two Milton High School students to Georgia Tech and UGA that took Engineering degrees that happen to be my sons. Still encounter cheats, liars, and thieves if you keep your eyes open. Still manage my own funds and know most of the tricks Wall Street uses to fleece investors. Wall Street breeds the type and the SEC and FINRA aren't in the business of looking out for retail investors.
Alpharetta was home. It was community. It was suburban Atlanta with most from someplace else. It was a great place to raise a family. Great schools with educators who actually cared about their students. I will never forget the day the principal at Milton High School (Cliff Jones) told me he had the best job in the world being around his teachers and students.
While living in Alpharetta, I spent 10 years as an arbitrator for both the New York Stock Exchange and FINRA. Got to see the financial thieves and shenanigans that went on in the world of financial investments. There are scum bags everywhere and Alpharetta is no exception. And truthfully, the clients can be as bad as the brokers when it comes to doing bad things. Why investors don't deal with investment management firms instead of Series 7 stockbrokers is hard to fathom but the nature of the business is to keep investors in the dark. Human nature doesn't change. Greed and fear will never go out of style.
In Alpharetta, there was a lot of greed and those trying to keep-up-with-the-rich types who were anxious to get a deal in life and investing. Not certain I fit that mold, I bought homes I could easily afford, purchased used vehicles, ate at Waffle House far too often, and never marketed my company because I only wanted to do business with people who knew me, trusted me and let me do my very best for them in the world of investment management.
Another massive PONZI in Alpharetta has been prosecuted and the final tally of damages is rather large. Unfortunately, rather huge!
Read about it here. I didn't make this up. If you live in Alpharetta you probably know a party that has been affected.
You see, it just wasn't $380,000,000. It was far more than that.
Much more.
It was retirement dreams vanished, I.R.S. problems, marital strife, college plans, new cars, second homes, and on and on and on.
For years.
The government won't get all the scum bags that were in on it. They don't have the time nor the resources. They are still out there.
Funny, the company web site is still up and the Chief Thief still has his LINKED-IN account. Funny how that happens!
So, be aware. Ask the tough questions when investing. Understand if it's too good to be true it probably is. Call the appropriate regulatory authority to check on firms and people. Do YOUR due diligence, it's YOUR money. Use common sense, it seems to be in short supply.
Today, I can only pray for the thousands of customers of DRIVE PLANNING who were victims and their families that were impacted.
