Alleged Operator of Tennessee-based Ponzi Expected to Plead Guilty
Dennis Bolze told prospective investors that he was a successful stock trader. More than 100 people believed him. Operating from offices in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, he ultimately raised approximately $20 million, more than enough to build a 16,000 square foot mansion and treat himself to finest of what money can buy. According to federal authorities Bolze used money collected from later investors to pay supposed profit distributions to earlier investors in classic Ponzi fashion. When the cops went to pick him up, he had fled to State College, Pennsylvania, where they ultimately found him.When originally charged, Bolze pled not guilty. According to WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee, as his trial date approached Bolze had second thoughts about what a jury would likely do to him, and elected to change his plea to guilty rather than go to trial.
This case in interesting because of who Bolze’s victims were. Most of them were from Europe. His case is a reminder of how small the world is. Financial fraudsters do not recognize lines on the map. One million dollars from a wealthy British citizen spends just as well as $1 million from a wealthy American. Recently we posted about how a Russian mobster ran a worldwide scam from offices in Pennsylvania.
The implications for your nest egg are frightening. The universe of potential thieves has grown exponentially larger. If you want to protect what it took you so long to save, you must so what banks do when they move cash: hire private protection.
