Brad Chilton, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Bart Chilton, a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission today released a book called “Ponzimonium — How Scam Artists are Ripping Off America,” to warn consumers and investors about investment fraud.

According to a CFTC news release, Chilton tells the stories of 10 Ponzi scams in which early “investors” are paid returns using funds provided by later investors. The scam run by Bernie Madoff “was the $50 billion mother of all Ponzi schemes,” Chilton writes, but it was only one of many in which American investors get caught every year.

“We thought all the frauds and Ponzi scams were horrific in the wake of the Madoff scandal, but it is even worse now,” Chilton said. “It’s ‘Ponzimonium’ out there. Individuals must be more cautious than ever about their investments.”

Many of the fraudsters prey upon people through the use of “affinity fraud,” where they use personal contacts to swindle family, friends, coworkers or even fellow church parishioners, Chilton writes. He noted that one perpetrator who was deaf took advantage of deaf people.

Chilton announced the publication of the book in a CFTC news release, which said the book is a government publication available for sale by the Government Printing Office. It may also be purchased on Amazon.

Neither Chilton nor the CFTC make any profit from the sale, according to the news release.