Atlanta man pleads guilty in $25M Ponzi scheme

By BILL RANKIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, May 21, 2009

The head of an Alpharetta firm that claimed hefty profits from trading Japanese and American currencies pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in a Ponzi scheme.

James G. Ossie, 48, of Atlanta, defrauded more than 100 people out of more than $25 million in a nine-month period, according to federal prosecutors.

Ossie pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Bill Duffey in Atlanta. He is to be sentenced July 30.

Ossie and his company, CRE Capital, offered investment contracts of at least $100,000 that guaranteed the investor’s deposit plus 10 percent interest within just 30 days.
Instead of making profits, Ossie lost millions of dollars. During the time the currency fund operated between April 2008 and this past January, it lost more than $12 million in its foreign currency trading accounts, prosecutors said.

Ossie only repaid some investors, but the scheme was unsustainable and shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission in January, prosecutors said.

“The damage done by this fraudulent investment scheme is extensive, leaving a trail of victims in its wake,” Gregory Jones, FBI special agent in charge said.