Tri Energy

It’s a sad day when a daughter has to turn in her own mother to the authorities in an attempt to halt a Ponzi scheme, but that’s exactly what has happened. Kim Flanigan felt compelled to turn in her widowed mother when she found out that she was part of a scam that had already taken in more than 100 people.

The final straw for Kim Flanigan came when she discovered her mother trying to persuade a widow with 9 children, to invest her life savings in the scheme. In an interview with Today, Flanigan said “that was my breaking point”. It must be one of the hardest things in the world to have to turn in one of your own family to state and federal officials but Flanigan bravely did just that.

Her help managed to break up a $50 million Ponzi scheme, and sent its 3 ringleaders to prison. No charges were eventually made against Flanigan’s mother and also an aunt as they were seen to be more as victims than victimizers. The scheme was targeted at churchgoers lulled into a false sense of security as they trusted the people that tried to ensnare them.

There were two investments involved, both completely fake. One involved Tri Energy Inc and was bringing money in for investments in 4 mines, which would eventually turn out to be extremely profitable. Of course this was all phony, in reality there were only 2 mines neither of which was profitable.

The other deal which maybe people should have cottoned onto more easily involved 20,000 metric tons of gold bullion. However that’s more than double the entire US reserve so maybe alarm bells should have been ringing over that one. Sadly when one investor find out he’d been duped and lost his life savings, he committed suicide.

Flanigan and her mother were estranged for some time but as it was the only way Flanigan could convince her mother it was a scam, her mother has now started to accept this and they are back in touch. Would you ever turn in a family member to authorities? Maybe it’s sometimes the only way to save them from themselves?