Ponzi scheme

Ponzi scheme
Pon·zi scheme /'pän-zē-ˌskēm/ n [Charles A. Ponzi (ca. 1882–1949), Italian-born American swindler]: an investment swindle in which early investors are paid with sums obtained from later ones in order to create the illusion of profitability

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

ponzi scheme
n.
A kind of pyramid scheme in which a perpetrator promises high returns on an investment and uses money submitted by later investors to pay off earlier investors, but eventually runs out of money or disappears and the scheme collapses. See also Securities and Exchange Commission

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


Ponzi scheme
A crooked investment arrangement by which investors, lured by the promise of outsized returns, are paid from money contributed by new investors, not from the profits earned by their investments. A Ponzi scheme is the same as a pyramid scheme. The term "Ponzi scheme" is used primarily in the United States, where it was named after Charles Ponzi, who used a pyramid scheme to take millions of dollars from investors in 1920.
Category: Business, LLCs & Corporations
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.


Ponzi scheme
A fraudulent investment plan in which the investments of later investors are used to pay earlier investors, giving the appearance that the investments of the initial participants dramatically increase in value in a short amount of time.

Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


Ponzi scheme
A fraudulent investment plan in which the investments of later investors are used to pay earlier investors, giving the appearance that the investments of the initial participants dramatically increase in value in a short amount of time.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ponzi scheme — Pon‧zi scheme [ˈpɒnzi skiːm ǁ ˈpɑːn ] ➔ scheme * * *    A fraudulent investment scheme that promises high returns which are derived from an inflow of new investors funds rather than from sound investments. The scheme collapses when there are not… …   Financial and business terms

  • Ponzi scheme — or Ponzi game [pän′zē] n. a fraudulent investment scheme in which funds paid in by later investors are used to pay artificially high returns to the original investors, thus attracting more funds * * * …   Universalium

  • Ponzi scheme — or Ponzi game [pän′zē] n. a fraudulent investment scheme in which funds paid in by later investors are used to pay artificially high returns to the original investors, thus attracting more funds …   English World dictionary

  • Ponzi scheme — investment scam by which early investors are paid off from the contributions of later ones, 1957, in reference to Charles Ponzi, who perpetrated such a scam in U.S., 1919 20 …   Etymology dictionary

  • Ponzi scheme — A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves promising or paying abnormally high returns ( profits ) to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business …   Wikipedia

  • Ponzi Scheme — A fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. The Ponzi scheme generates returns for older investors by acquiring new investors. This scam actually yields the promised returns to earlier investors, as… …   Investment dictionary

  • Ponzi scheme —  A fraudulent financial proposition where initial investors are promised very high rates of return; Eventually the scheme collapses. The phrase is named after Charles Ponzi, who in 1919 created the Security and Exchange Company, promising… …   American business jargon

  • Ponzi scheme — noun A Ponzi scam. <!Any pyramid scheme, or a particular kind? They are virtually synonymous it seems <!Is Ponzi capitalised? 98/ first 100 raw b.g.c. hits are for capitalized Ponzi …   Wiktionary

  • Ponzi scheme — /ˈpɒnzi skim/ (say ponzee skeem) noun a fraudulent investment scheme in which initial investors are paid dividends using the income derived from later investors rather than real profits. {named after Charles Ponzi, 1882–1949, who first used this… …  

  • Ponzi scheme — named for pyramid scheme based in Boston in 1920, run by Charles Ponzi …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

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