$2 million Ponzi scheme unravels after firm dissolved

A man from Duluth is facing federal fraud charges in what prosecutors are calling a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. The U.S. attorney accuses Roosevelt Bailey of scamming investors out of nearly two million dollars. Fox 5's Christopher King has a look at how it all worked. Prosecutors here at the U.S. attorney's office say Roosevelt Bailey promised investors massive returns. Instead, they say Bailey and that lawyer, Alvin Jones, pocketed most of that money. This is brazen conduct. U.S. Attorney Theodore Hershberg accuses two men of ripping off investors for nearly $2 million. These two individuals have been charged with a couple of different schemes. Both of which are essentially Ponzi schemes. A federal grand jury indicted Roosevelt Tobias Bailey of Duluth on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. And Alvin Jones, a lawyer in Tampa, Florida, on money laundering offenses. These folks and others like them advertise an opportunity to invest in some sort of transaction between a big company and a big bank. Federal prosecutors say the schemes ran from October 2018 through October 2024. In one scheme, prosecutors say Bailey used his company, Borg Global Holdings LLC, to promise investors he would double their investment, buying and selling, quote, precious stones and metals such as diamonds and gold. While there was some purchase of precious metals and stones in Africa, it wasn't nearly at the scale that was purported. In another scheme, prosecutors say Bailey promised, quote, returns of up to 16 times the investment within 30 to 90 days. People give money thinking that they can get massive returns. Instead, prosecutors say Bailey used the funds for himself on other projects associated with Borg Global and to pay earlier investors. But most of the money didn't go to investors new or old. It went to the scammers. Hertzberg says Jones, the lawyer, would launder the money through his own firm's trust account. Jones allegedly used his law firm and specifically his interest on lawyer trust account bank account in order to receive money from victims and then pay it out to Bailey. Borg Global was dissolved in September 2024. A man who said he was Bailey would not speak on camera. He sent a text saying he needs to talk with his attorney. He says, quote, this was all unexpected and a complete shock. We called and texted Jones. The person on the other end merely texted back the words hello. In downtown Atlanta, Christopher King, Fox 5 News.