Man Charged with Ponzi Scheme Targeting Elderly Church Members

A Florida man has been charged with orchestrating a $35 million Ponzi scheme that targeted elderly church members in what the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is classifying as an example of affinity fraud.

A statement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, released Thursday, announced the charging of Brent Seaman, a resident of Naples, Florida, with “fraudulently raising approximately $35 million from at least 60 investors through an unregistered securities offering.” The SEC noted that “many of these investors were elderly, retired, and connected to a Naples church where Seaman was an active member.”

The charges against Seaman followed an investigation spearheaded by the SEC’s Miami Regional Office’s Fraud Against Minority Groups Initiative into actions that took place between June 2019 and September 2022. A complaint filed by the SEC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida reveals how Seaman told people he would use their money to invest in technology companies in addition to trading currencies and commodities, promising annual returns ranging from 18% to 48%.

While Seaman vowed that his investments were “safe” and brought “guaranteed” returns, the SEC determined that his business endeavors resulted in the loss of millions of dollars and that “his currency trading was always unprofitable.” (Excerpt from The Christian Post.)