SEC Charges South Florida Woman Behind Ponzi Scheme Targeting Colombian-American Community
Jenny E. Coplan defrauded over 90 investors of $4.6 million through a Ponzi and affinity scheme targeting Colombian-Americans by falsely claiming her company invested in FDIC-insured immigration bail bonds, paying fake returns with new funds and stealing $878,000 for personal use, leading to SEC charges and parallel criminal prosecution.
Jenny E. Coplan, a South Florida resident, raised approximately $4.6 million from more than 90 investors by falsely claiming her company, Immigration General Services, invested in insured immigration bail bonds with annual returns of 60–108%. She deceived investors by fabricating FDIC insurance documents and falsified account statements, while using new investor funds to pay fake profits—a classic Ponzi scheme—and stole $878,000 for personal expenses. The SEC has charged her with securities fraud, seeking disgorgement, financial penalties, and permanent injunctions, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed parallel criminal charges after the scheme collapsed in 2011 when she issued bounced checks and failed to meet redemption requests.
Jenny E. Coplan, a resident of Tamarac, Florida, orchestrated a $4.6 million Ponzi and affinity fraud scheme targeting Colombian-American and Colombian investors through her fake company, Immigration General Services. She falsely claimed investor funds were placed with an investment broker to profit from immigration bail bonds, assured them the money was FDIC-insured, and promised annual returns of 60–108%, none of which were true. Coplan never invested any money in bail bonds or with a broker; instead, she used new investor funds to pay fake returns to earlier investors and stole approximately $878,000 for personal use. To conceal the fraud, she created and distributed fictitious investor statements and even emailed fabricated FDIC documents showing insured balances of $107,000 and $250,000. When the scheme began unraveling in 2011, she blamed a nonexistent broker for delayed payments and issued non-sufficient fund checks to mislead investors, successfully raising an additional $578,000 before collapsing entirely. The SEC’s complaint seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, financial penalties, and permanent injunctions, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has filed parallel criminal charges; the investigation was conducted by the SEC’s Miami office with assistance from the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
- $4.00M $4 million $1M–$10M
- $878K $878,000 $100K–$1M
- $578K $578,000 $100K–$1M
- $250K $250,000 $100K–$1M
- $107K $107,000 $100K–$1M
- person amie riggle berlin
- agency director of the sec's miami regional office
- person Elisha L. Frank
- person eric i. bustillo
- person immigration general services
- person jenny e. coplan
- scheme_term jenny e. coplan with defrauding investors in a ponzi scheme and affinity fraud
- person jorge l. riera
- person karaz s. zaki
- agency sec's investigation
- agency sec's investigation in miami office
- agency sec's litigation
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- agency u.s. attorney's office for the southern district of florida
- SEC charged Jenny E. Coplan with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud
- Jenny E. Coplan operated Immigration General Services
- Jenny E. Coplan promised interest payments ranging from 60 to 108 percent annually
- Jenny E. Coplan stole $878,000 of investor money
- Jenny E. Coplan raised approximately $4 million from more than 90 investors
- Jenny E. Coplan raised another $578,000 from new investors before the scheme collapsed
- U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced criminal charges against Jenny E. Coplan
- Jenny E. Coplan created fictitious investor statements to hide misuse of money
- Jenny E. Coplan e-mailed purported FDIC statements reflecting insured balances of $107,000 and $250,000
- Jenny E. Coplan lives in Tamarac, Florida
- SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, financial penalties, and permanent injunctions against Jenny E. Coplan
- Eric I. Bustillo is Director of the SEC's Miami Regional Office
- Jorge L. Riera conducted SEC's investigation in Miami office
- Karaz S. Zaki conducted SEC's investigation in Miami office
- Elisha L. Frank supervised SEC's investigation
- Amie Riggle Berlin will lead SEC's litigation
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a woman living in South Florida with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud that targeted the local Colombian-American community and involved purported investments in immigration bail bonds. The SEC alleges that Jenny E. Coplan told investors that her company Immigration General Services operated through an investment broker that would invest the funds she raised in immigration bail bonds and turn a profit. Coplan promised interest payments ranging from 60 to 108 percent annually. She also assured investors that their money was safe because it was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). However, Coplan never placed investor funds with any investment broker, and their money was never FDIC insured. Instead, she paid supposed profits to earlier investors using funds from newer investors in classic Ponzi fashion, and she stole approximately $878,000 of investor money for her own personal use. “Coplan deliberately misled investors into believing their investments were safe and secure when in reality she was lining her own pockets,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office. “Her predatory scheme exploited the trust and friendship of members of her own community by using empty promises to convince them to trust her with their hard-earned savings.” In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida today announced criminal charges against Coplan. According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Miami, Coplan solicited investors through personal conversations over the phone and in person, and many of her targets were Colombian-Americans and Colombians living in Florida. She raised approximately $4 million from more than 90 investors in Florida, California, Georgia, Texas, Canada, and Colombia. The SEC alleges that Coplan created fictitious investor statements that she disseminated to hide her misuse of the money and lead investors to believe their investments were growing. Furthermore, Coplan e-mailed one investor two purported FDIC statements reflecting insured balances of $107,000 and $250,000, lulling the investor to think the investment was particularly safe. When her scheme began to unravel in 2011, Coplan blamed the purported investment broker for the delay in interest payments to investors, telling them the broker held the investors’ funds to cover deficiencies because Coplan had failed to meet certain monthly investment quotas. Even though Immigration General Services had virtually no funds in its bank accounts and was unable to honor investors’ increasing redemption requests, Coplan tried in late 2011 to create a false appearance that the company was back to business as usual. She issued non-sufficient fund checks to investors purporting to be their monthly profits. Through her continued misstatements, Coplan was able to raise another $578,000 from new investors before the scheme collapsed entirely. The SEC’s complaint against Coplan, who lives in Tamarac, Fla., seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, financial penalties, and permanent injunctions. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jorge L. Riera and Karaz S. Zaki in the Miami office and supervised by Elisha L. Frank. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Amie Riggle Berlin. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a woman living in South Florida with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud that targeted the local Colombian-American community and involved purported investments in immigration bail bonds. The SEC alleges that Jenny E. Coplan told investors that her company Immigration General Services operated through an investment broker that would invest the funds she raised in immigration bail bonds and turn a profit. Coplan promised interest payments ranging from 60 to 108 percent annually. She also assured investors that their money was safe because it was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). However, Coplan never placed investor funds with any investment broker, and their money was never FDIC insured. Instead, she paid supposed profits to earlier investors using funds from newer investors in classic Ponzi fashion, and she stole approximately $878,000 of investor money for her own personal use. “Coplan deliberately misled investors into believing their investments were safe and secure when in reality she was lining her own pockets,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office. “Her predatory scheme exploited the trust and friendship of members of her own community by using empty promises to convince them to trust her with their hard-earned savings.” In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida today announced criminal charges against Coplan. According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Miami, Coplan solicited investors through personal conversations over the phone and in person, and many of her targets were Colombian-Americans and Colombians living in Florida. She raised approximately $4 million from more than 90 investors in Florida, California, Georgia, Texas, Canada, and Colombia. The SEC alleges that Coplan created fictitious investor statements that she disseminated to hide her misuse of the money and lead investors to believe their investments were growing. Furthermore, Coplan e-mailed one investor two purported FDIC statements reflecting insured balances of $107,000 and $250,000, lulling the investor to think the investment was particularly safe. When her scheme began to unravel in 2011, Coplan blamed the purported investment broker for the delay in interest payments to investors, telling them the broker held the investors’ funds to cover deficiencies because Coplan had failed to meet certain monthly investment quotas. Even though Immigration General Services had virtually no funds in its bank accounts and was unable to honor investors’ increasing redemption requests, Coplan tried in late 2011 to create a false appearance that the company was back to business as usual. She issued non-sufficient fund checks to investors purporting to be their monthly profits. Through her continued misstatements, Coplan was able to raise another $578,000 from new investors before the scheme collapsed entirely. The SEC’s complaint against Coplan, who lives in Tamarac, Fla., seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, financial penalties, and permanent injunctions. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jorge L. Riera and Karaz S. Zaki in the Miami office and supervised by Elisha L. Frank. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Amie Riggle Berlin. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.