Organizing a Ponzi in the USA is a bad idea, Zeek Rewards CEO Paul Burks got 14 years, COO Dawn Wright Olivares 7.5 years and 2 years for CTO Daniel Olivares.
Federal prosecutors are recommending 10 years of prison time for James Merrill, the former Chief Executive of TelexFree Inc., for his role in one of the largest pyramid schemes of all time.
Merrill, of Ashland, pleaded guilty in October to multiple fraud counts for his role in the global scheme, in which nearly 1.9 million people from more than 100 countries lost $3.5 billion.
He will be sentenced in federal court in Worcester next week, while his business partner, Carlos Wanzeler, remains a fugitive in his native Brazil.
In sentencing memorandums filed Thursday, prosecutors alleged that from February 2012 to April 2014, Merrill ran