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Nicholas Cosmo (born 1971) is an American former businessman and white collar criminal. He was arrested January 26, 2009 on charges of an estimated $370–413 million Ponzi scheme. Cosmo conducted the scheme using his company Agape World Inc. in Hauppauge, New York, which claimed to make its profits via commercial bridge lending.〔(Agape World website )〕 Authorities arrested him in Hicksville, New York. Cosmo was arraigned in Islip, New York on January 27, 2009 on charges of mail fraud.〔("Financier Arrested on Charges of $400 Million Ponzi Scheme" Reuters via Yahoo News (January 27, 2009) )〕 Cosmo had previously been convicted of felony fraud in 1999, and had served his sentence of 21 months in prison for the offense.〔 On October 14, 2011, Cosmo was sentenced to 25 years in prison.〔("Mini-Madoff Gets 25 Years", Reuters via Yahoo News (October 15, 2011) )〕 It has been reported that his crimes represent the 8th largest financial fraud in history, since the first documented flimflam in 1719 involving Scotsman John Law.〔http://www.savemoneytips.com/10-largest-ponzi-scheme-proprietors-of-the-21st-century/ 10 Largest financial fraud Proprietors of The 21st Century〕 ==Agape World== Prosecutors stated that Nick Cosmo used $212,000 in Agape funds to pay restitution from the 1999 federal mail fraud conviction.〔()〕 Prosecuters were only able to trace $10 million of bridge loans that were made. $80 Million to $100 Million was allegedly lost in Commodities Future Trading and $55 to $63 Million of the investors funds went to pay the broker's commissions.〔 The complaint against Agape World stated that many of the employees had criminal records.〔(AllBusiness website entry )〕 Postal inspectors said Cosmo paid the brokers, some of whom were ex-convicts with records that included robbery and heroin importation, to recruit investors. One of the largest assets of Agape World was an indoor athletic complex purchased for $3.85 million. The complex was sold via auction in June 2009 to a company called Coastal Sports. Cosmo had purchased the building in Hauppauge, New York for $3.85 million last year and spent another $1 million to transform the former paintball arena into indoor athletic fields. The building was the most valuable asset in Cosmo’s holdings liquidated by bankruptcy trustee, Silverman Acampora, and was auctioned off by David R. Maltz & Co. of Plainview, New York.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nicholas Cosmo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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