A life coach has been arrested in Las Vegas after swindling millions of dollars in casino investors’ money. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
cheating all the way
A Las Vegas resident is facing accusations that he ran a Ponzi scheme, using the money to feed his gambling addiction. Rodney Buckle was recently arrested by Las Vegas police on numerous fraud charges.
Instead of investing people’s money in the stock market like he said, the 65-year-old instead made millions of dollars. One of the defendants in the case already pleaded guilty last year to charges of theft, conspiracy and securities fraud. Warisra Stevens was sentenced to a minimum of 19 months in prison.
Did not hold any relevant federal or state licenses
Buckley ran his business under a variety of names and claimed to be a financial advisor and life coach. He did not hold any relevant federal or state licenses. One of its online advertisements stated: “Rodd University is a membership-based social club that provides a platform for research and discussion of topics ranging from current events to the stock market.”
Scheme detection
State investigators discovered that some people had contributed as little as $100 to the alleged Ponzi scheme, while others had spent more than $700,000. Buckle guaranteed great returns on investments. At one point, he informed investors that he would need more financing in order to generate more returns. This has led some investors to take out new credit cards, refinance their mortgages, and take out bank loans against so-called guaranteed returns.
He originally promised a 50% return on the money invested
the Scheme investigation It began in the wake of a complaint to Nevada state authorities from a couple who never received their supposedly guaranteed return on investment. Buckle had originally promised a 50% return on the money invested in 2015. The couple tried to get some of their investments back in 2017 to pay the bills, including those related to a cancer diagnosis. They have contributed tens of thousands of dollars.
The couple eventually discovered that Buckle had an SEC ruling against him since 1999, which resulted in him having to pay $3 million in compensation to investors who had been misled.
Gambling addiction financing
The co-defendant with Buckley in the case was his girlfriend. Speaking to investigators, she explained that Buckle would withdraw approximately $25,000 per week for gambling and personal use. Buckle funded his girlfriend’s lifestyle and she claimed the entire business was just a Ponzi scheme. It was Stephens who revealed that Buckley was addicted to gambling and could bet between $5,000 and $20,000 a day.
Through further investigation, it was found that Buckle had placed sports bets totaling $2.4 million at the Westgate Hotel and Casino before he was banned, losing $76,000. He also placed $440,000 in bets at South Point Casino, resulting in $434,000 in losses.
Authorities initially issued an arrest warrant for Buckle and his girlfriend in December 2019. It is not clear why it took so long for Buckle to be arrested and it appears he has already surrendered. He is currently being held without bail, pending a court date in January.
