Victim's Of Long Island Ponzi Scheme Not Out Of The Woods Yet
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Victims of a Long Island Ponzi schemer said Wednesday they have already paid enough. Some of them were bilked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by Nick Cosmo. Now Cosmo's victims could be on the hook for even more money.
CBS 2's Lou Young spoke with Greg Ameo, who said that the trustee handling Cosmo's collapsed investment firm is demanding even more money.
"Fifteen grand, and I lost over $160,000. I think I'm getting screwed twice, basically," Ameo said.
The recent charges are part of a claw-back proceeding. Anybody who withdrew money from their accounts at Agape World, Cosmo's Ponzi front, within 90 days of its collapse, can be ordered to pay it back. The claw-back even applies to money that was part of the original investment, officials said.
CBS 2 left multiple messages for the trustee and his attorney, but did not receive a response.
Bankruptcy attorney Bruce Bronson explained that the lawyer for the trustee is doing a job that is legal, even though it may not seem right.
"He's doing his job, trying to get back as much money as possible for the creditors, for the company, but he's doing it in a manner that's acting like a bully," Bronson said.
Another victim who has already lost a small fortune told CBS 2 that they could never possibly make back the kind of money that the trustee is asking for.
"I couldn't make the money back in a lifetime that they're looking to retrieve," he said.
With thousands of victims in the New York area, critics of the claw-back provision told CBS 2 that there has been no attempt made to separate the innocent from those who were complicit in the scheme.
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