The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against brothers Daniel Rivera and Matthew Rivera with fraud. The two men are accused of running a $2.7 million Ponzi scam that targeted unsophisticated older investors.<\/p>\n
According to the SEC, from \u201908 to \u201914, Daniel told investors that they could make money from Robbins Lane, which was a real estate venture in Pennsylvania. On occasion, he even purportedly recommended to some of them that they sell their retirement assets to invest in the venture. <\/p>\n
In truth, said the Commission, Robbins Lane, which the Rivera brothers founded, lacked an investment portfolio and the ability to provide the senior investors any income. Yet Daniel set up a Robbins Lane website and produced a brochure touting the opportunity as one that gave older investors \u201cguaranteed\u201d income every month.<\/p>\n
However, rather than invest the fund Daniel used the money to cover his own expense and his daughter\u2019s college tuition. He diverted some of the money toward a janitorial business that he ran with Matthew. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in investor money went to pay other investors. <\/p>\n