Saturday, February 23, 2013

People Actually Invest in Program Based on... Astrology?

The more you read about scams, the more you wonder about the victim's sanity.

For example, the SEC just indicted a Florida man, whose investment strategy is based on "lunar cycles".

I kid you not. This is straight from the SEC complaint:

33. The primary principle underlying Persaud's trading strategy was that the gravitational pull between the moon and Earth affects mass human behavior, which in tum affects the stock markets. For example, Persaud believed that when the moon is positioned so there is a greater gravitational pull on humans, they feel down and are therefore more inclined to sell securities in the markets.
34. Persaud failed to disclose he would trade investors' contributions based on lunar cycles and the gravitational pull between Earth and the moon.
In this case, the perp basically never told any one about his strategy, and his investors never asked. Persaud lost 400000 of his clients money trading with his "astrology" strategy, and funneled another 415000 into his and his family's accounts.

You have to admit, this is pretty bogus, but this guy just say "trust me" and some people did. To the tune of millions of dollars.

Some people just have that effect on people.


But perhaps that's no so strange where you find companies with products that claims to be certified to do absolutely nothing, violate laws of thermodynamics, bogusly cite Nobel prize winners, sell a glass disc infused with "positive ions" with various unspecified positive effects... and even a MLM for UFO believers. 

Well, if you believe in "easy money", I have a bridge to sell you...


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