A Palm Beach County-based real estate investment firm has been shut down following accusations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it ran a Ponzi scheme that raised at least $56 million from 660 investors across the country.
Assets of Wells Real Estate Investment LLC in West Palm Beach were frozen and a receiver was appointed by a U.S District Court judge on Aug. 14, two days after the SEC filed a complaint under seal against the company and two principals, Janalie C. Bingham and her husband, Jean Joseph, a convicted felon who was on court-ordered supervision while he helped to run the company, the SEC said.
Twenty-three limited liability companies that the couple is accused of using to purchase properties with money raised from investors were named in the complaint as relief defendants.
A “substantial portion” of funds raised came from investors’ retirement savings, the SEC stated last week in a news release about the case.
The couple, the SEC said, told investors that their company managed a $450 million real estate portfolio that used investor funds to purchase and improve real estate, primarily in South Florida.