Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home Seeking Victim Information in Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit Ponzi Scheme Investigation

Seeking Victim Information in Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit Ponzi Scheme Investigation

Seeking Victim Information in Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit Ponzi Scheme Investigation

The FBI is seeking potential victims of an alleged Ponzi-style investment fraud scheme conducted by a small group of individuals operating in Nevada, Utah, and California from 2017 to March 2022. Members of this scheme sold “settlement contracts,” “lawsuit settlement contracts,” “settlement funding contracts,” or similar contracts related to third-party slip-and-fall lawsuits.

Defining characteristics of this scheme are as follows:

  • Contracts were often sold in increments of $80,000 or $100,000
  • Investors were promised a return of 10-13% in 90 days
  • Earlier contracts were four to five pages long and often contained a reference to a slip-and-fall incident, the name of the slip-and-fall victim’s attorney, a settlement monetary award, a non-disclosure agreement, a purchase agreement, and an investor agreement; investors were asked to reinvest their original principal into a new contract after the initial 90 days
  • More recent contracts were more than 100 pages and changed to a “membership,” where 90-day renewals were not required
  • Salespeople described the contracts as scarce and led buyers to believe they may not be able to immediately invest
  • Investors were asked to verbally commit to a purchase between Thursday and Sunday and were required to wire money to the organization the following Monday or Tuesday
  • Investors were asked to wire money to a company IOLTA (interest on lawyers’ trust account)
  • Investors were asked to set up an LLC to collect their return
  • Investors were introduced to the scheme by persons who shared the same faith, hobbies, gym memberships, etc.

If you believe you were a victim of this scheme, please fill out the below questionnaire.

If you know of someone else who may have been affected, please encourage them to complete the form themselves.

Your responses are voluntary but may be useful in the federal investigation and to identify potential victims. It may be that you have already given this information to an FBI agent, but please provide it again on this questionnaire. Based on the responses provided, you may be contacted by the FBI.

For more information, visit fbi.gov/LVPonziScheme.

CONTACT INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
1. Which of the following were you solicited to purchase? (Select all that apply)
2. When were you first contacted about this opportunity?
/ /  
3. In what type of social setting were you approached regarding this contract?





4. How did you communicate about the contract? (Select all that apply)
characters remaining
6a. How were you introduced to this additional point of contact?






characters remaining
8. Did you invest in or purchase the contract? (If yes, please answer questions 9-18)


9. When did you invest in the contract?
/ /  
11. How did you make your initial investment?












12. If payment was not provided in an electronic format, please indicate the delivery method used.





13. How did you receive any disbursements of earnings or interest?




16. Do you have any supporting documentation you would be willing to provide to law enforcement? (e.g., copies of cancelled checks, bank statements, wire transfer receipts, promissory notes, and written or email communications (including envelopes) received from individuals and companies regarding your investment this contract.)


17. Are you willing to be further interviewed by law enforcement as a part of this investigation?


18. What happened to you because of this situation? (Select all that apply)







Privacy Act Statement

The FBI is authorized to collect the information on this form by one or more of the following provisions: Title 28, United States Code, sections 533 and 534; Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, section 0.85; and the Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance. The information requested will assist the FBI in providing you with assistance to which crime victims are entitled under federal law. You do not have to provide the requested information; however, failure to do so may hinder the FBI in providing you with crime victim assistance. The information collected on this form is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, Title 5, United States Code section 552a, and is maintained in the FBI’s Central Records System, DOJ/FBI-002, a description of which was published in the Federal Register at 63 Fed. Reg. 8671 (Feb. 20, 1998) and which may be viewed at www.justice.gov/opcl/doj-systems-records#doj