DETROIT – A former FBI special agent has pleaded guilty in Detroit to defrauding investors in a foreign currency trading scheme and agreed to pay more than $576,000 in restitution to victims.
Jeffrey Royer pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Recommended Videos
As part of his plea, court documents revealed that Royer admitted he defrauded multiple investors by falsely representing how their money would be used and by misleading them about the performance of their investments.
Prosecutors said Royer told investors their funds would be used for foreign currency, or forex, and commodity futures trading.
Instead, he admitted diverting some of the money for personal expenses.
Court documents revealed that Royer also falsely assured investors that their principal was protected from losses and that they would receive guaranteed future earnings.
According to court records, after suffering…
THE BHI TRUST PONZI SCHEME (SOUTH AFRICA)
Date: Ongoing updates through February 2026 Perpetrator: Craig Warriner (Principal), with alleged co-conspirators
Case Description: The BHI Trust scandal remains one of South Africa’s most devastating financial crimes, involving the loss of between R1.9 billion and R3 billion. Craig Warriner, the “genius trader” behind the trust, turned himself in during late 2023, but the legal and recovery battles reached a fever pitch in 2025 and 2026. Warriner operated the trust as a textbook Ponzi scheme, utilizing “Old Boy” networks and high-profile brokers to lure in pensioners and high-net-worth individuals with promises of 20% annual returns.
In early 2025, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) faced heavy criticism for “provisionally withdrawing” charges against alleged co-conspirators Michael Haldane and Sona Pillay. However, civil recovery efforts by joint trustees have continued into 2026, aiming to claw back hundreds of millions in “fictitious profits” from early investors to redistribute to those who lost everything. The case is a masterclass in the failure of fiduciary duty; the FSCA eventually banned several advisors for up to 30 years for peddling the unlicensed scheme despite clear red flags, such as the lack of a website, the absence of regulated financial reports, and a fee structure that was triple the industry average.
Link to Original: Moneyweb – BHI Trust Scandal Deep Dive