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Home Seeking Victims in the “1st Million” Investigation

Seeking Victims in the “1st Million” Investigation

Seeking Victims in the “1st Million” Investigation

The FBI is seeking to identify potential victims who may have been defrauded through an investment company called The Smart Partners LLC. Starting in 2017 until May 2019, Smart Partners was doing business as “1st Million Dollars,” or “1st Million,” headquartered in Largo, Maryland, but solicited investments from victims in Texas, Georgia, New York, Florida, and potentially other locations.

It is alleged that Dennis Jali, John Frimpong, and Arley Johnson, who have all been arrested, recruited victims to invest in 1st Million by holding promotional events at upscale hotels and event spaces, attending church-sponsored events intended to target investments from churchgoers, and representing themselves as religious men more interested in the philanthropic financial freedom of others than personal financial gain. The defendants allegedly presented themselves as pastors and told prospective investors that 1st Million’s work was in furtherance of God’s mission as it helped churches and their members achieve personal wealth and financial freedom.

The indictment alleges that the defendants persuaded or attempted to persuade investors to provide them with wire transfers, checks, and cash totaling more than $28 million, from numerous victims, under the fraudulent pretense of investing in the foreign exchange and cryptocurrency markets.  Analysis has revealed financial activity consistent with a Ponzi scheme in which Jali, Frimpong, and Johnson allegedly diverted substantial amounts of investor funds for personal use and to pay back earlier investors.

If you have any information concerning this case, or if you believe you are a victim or may have been affected by these alleged crimes, please complete this brief questionnaire. Your responses are voluntary, but would be useful in the federal investigation and to identify you as a potential victim. You may be contacted by the FBI and asked to provide additional information.

The FBI is legally mandated to identify victims of federal crimes that it investigates and provide these victims with information assistance services, and resources. If you have any questions regarding this questionnaire or resources for victims, please email firstmillion@fbi.gov.

Contact Information
Questions
1. Did you invest with The Smart Partners LLC/1st Million?


2. How much was your principal investment? Do not include reinvested profits or returns.





3. How did you submit funds? Select all that apply:
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6. Who at Smart Partners/1st Million did you work with? Select all that apply:
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8. How did you communicate with the person or company about investments? Select all that apply:
9. Do you have copies of your communications?


9a. If yes, are you willing to provide copies of that communication to law enforcement?


10. What happened to you financially as a result of this offense? Select all that apply.
11. Are you willing to be further interviewed by law enforcement as a part of this investigation?


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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