LEXINGTON, N.C. – People are questioning how a North Carolina man operated a $600 million Ponzi scheme that attracted 1 million investors, even though regulators had received dozens of complaints about the company.
Authorities say Paul Burks is the mastermind of one of the biggest investment scams in U.S. history.
Get weekly money news
His online company ZeekRewards was based in Lexington, N.C.
The Securities and Exchange Commission closed ZeekRewards in August. Burks has agreed to pay a $4 million penalty.
Investigators say he siphoned millions for his personal use, but he hasn’t been charged.
Burks says he never told anyone to invest more money than they could afford.
Investors say they were duped.
They also didn’t know regulators had received nearly a dozen complaints about ZeekRewards but failed to take action for months.
- How Canada’s oil sands transformed into one of North America’s lowest-cost energy producers
- CUPW to vote on Canada Post’s ‘final’ offers starting July 21, company says
- ‘Youth-cession’ sees young Canadians struggling most, poll data shows
- Wall Street rides roller-coaster after Trump walks back talk of firing Powell
-
![]()
Will we see a recession? Maybe. But young people are already living a ‘youth-cession’ -
![]()
Trump says he’s not planning to fire Fed Chair Powell despite him doing a ‘lousy job’ -
![]()
Canada targets China with higher tariffs as part of steel industry measures -
![]()
This Week in Politics: Should Carney be forced to disclose his assets?
Comments