Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch has filed suit against Investment Properties of Minnesota ("IPM") and a number of related parties charging that they defrauded Minnesotans out of millions of dollars.
IPM and its affiliates, J & J Investment Properties of Minnesota, LLC ("J & J") and Amerifunding Group, LLC, conducted a number of seminars and sales presentations in Plymouth and Brooklyn Park in 2005. Seminar attendees were encouraged to invest in real estate and were told that money they invested with the promoters would be pooled together to "buy dirt."
The promoters all but guaranteed investors a 30% rate of return. First time investors were lured into the scheme by the promise of a $25 million dollar insurance policy protecting their principal. Minnesota investors lent at least $3.5 million to IPM and its affiliates.
Unfortunately, the promoters did not make the investments they promised and have defaulted on the loans. Investors have been unable to obtain a copy of any insurance policy protecting their investments.
"IPM devised an investment scheme that took Minnesotans for millions of dollars. This office will try to help the victims of this scam obtain relief by freezing the assets of the defendants and seeking the appointment of a receiver to identify and attach defendants assets so there is a chance for investors to recover at least some of the money they lost" said Hatch.
"I am also urging federal law enforcement authorities to take criminal action against IPM to bring the company and its principals to justice," added Hatch.
The state does not believe that IPM invested in real estate or any other legitimate investment.
It appears that the promoters invested at least some of the borrowed funds in a get-rich scheme promoted by Travis Correll and his affiliates out of Atlanta, Georgia.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought criminal charges against Correll and his affiliates, charging them with defrauding investors nationwide through a sophisticated Ponzi-scheme.
