Word: cosmo
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Agape did not return calls for comment, and neither Cosmo nor his attorneys could be reached for comment...
...like a Pied Piper," said Michael Devine, a Port Jefferson, N.Y., lawyer who represents salespeople at the firm who "felt something wasn't right." The salespeople were selling friends and family on Agape's high-yield claims. "[Cosmo] actually sat down with investors and explained his investments to them. He was a very convincing salesman," said Devine. (Read "Beyond Madoff, Ponzi Schemes Proliferate...
Problems arose when investors blew the whistle on Cosmo after payouts were postponed in September (until December), according to private investigator Mike Kessler. When December payments were postponed to January, "investors went nuts," said Kessler, whose clients are Agape investors...
Kessler's investigations found that brokers "lived lavishly and there were a lot of red flags, not the least of which was that Cosmo was a convicted felon." (Read "The Ponzi Scheme in Every Hedge Fund...
Agape's website says it has been a "private bridge lender" since 1999, but U.S. Bureau of Prisons records show that Cosmo was released from the Allenwood, Pa., federal penitentiary on Aug. 23, 2000. In 1997, Cosmo, then a stockbroker, was accused of misappropriating funds, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to a single federal charge and was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution...