Breaking news

MMM Founder Is Dead

Russian businessman Sergei Mavrodi, whose MMM pyramid
scheme deprived millions of Russians of their savings in the
1990s, has died of a heart attack, according to Russia media.
Reports said the 62-year-old was rushed to the hospital late
on March 25 with pain in his chest and died several hours
later.
Mavrodi's MMM financial pyramid was a typical Ponzi scheme
in which earlier investors receive their profits from subsequent
investors. Mavrodi promised returns of 20 percent to 75
percent a month, as well as lotteries and bonuses for
investors.
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As soon as the number of new clients stopped growing, the
pyramid collapsed, causing huge financial losses for at least
10 million people, in some cases leaving them destitute.
In 1994, Mavrodi was elected as a lawmaker, a decision he
later said was to ensure he received immunity from
prosecution. In 1996, he lost his parliamentary mandate.
In 2007, a Moscow court found him guilty of financial fraud
and sentenced him to 4 1/2 years in a penal colony.
In 2011, Mavrodi launched another pyramid scheme called
MMM-2011, calling on investors to purchase so-called Mavro
currency units in a bid to get rid of the "unfair " financial
system. Some 15 months later, Mavrodi halted the project.
From 2011-16, Mavrodi launched Ponzi schemes under the
MMM brand in India, China, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and
Nigeria.
In many of those countries, Mavrodi's operations were
subsequently shut down or suspended.
source : https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mmm-pyramid-
scheme-founder-dead-mavrodi/29124267.html