SEC: Rhoda Burkholz to Pay $250K for Role in Ponzi Scheme
- Burkholz has agreed to pay the money without admitting nor denying the allegations from the regulator.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this week that the US District Court of the Southern District of Florida entered a final judgment against relief defendant Rhoda Burkholz, in their role in a Ponzi Scheme Ponzi Scheme A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and funds. This can unravel quickly should investors request or demand repayment or lose faith in whatever assets they are supposed to own.While earlier episodes of this scam were carried out historically, the name Ponzi scheme is associated with Charles Ponzi in the 1920s.His original scam was based on the legitimate arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps. This eventually gave way to diverting new investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and to himself.How to Identify Ponzi Schemes?Like any scam, Ponzi schemes follow a few basic trends that investors should be mindful of. A healthy amount of skepticism in regards to investing should always be present, which should help identify ways that scams look to market themselves.For example, Ponzi schemes almost always require an initial investment and promise above average returns. This also includes purposely vague or arbitrary terminology to help confuse more novice investors. This fraud is riddled with mentions of "high-yield investment programs", "offshore investment", or “guaranteed returns”.Any sort of investment opportunity should always be analyzed and researched. In the modern era, many tools are available to identify scams or fraudulent operations.Regulators in most jurisdictions are constantly policing against these forms of market abuse and it is important to check these registers before actually investing in dubious opportunities. A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and funds. This can unravel quickly should investors request or demand repayment or lose faith in whatever assets they are supposed to own.While earlier episodes of this scam were carried out historically, the name Ponzi scheme is associated with Charles Ponzi in the 1920s.His original scam was based on the legitimate arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps. This eventually gave way to diverting new investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and to himself.How to Identify Ponzi Schemes?Like any scam, Ponzi schemes follow a few basic trends that investors should be mindful of. A healthy amount of skepticism in regards to investing should always be present, which should help identify ways that scams look to market themselves.For example, Ponzi schemes almost always require an initial investment and promise above average returns. This also includes purposely vague or arbitrary terminology to help confuse more novice investors. This fraud is riddled with mentions of "high-yield investment programs", "offshore investment", or “guaranteed returns”.Any sort of investment opportunity should always be analyzed and researched. In the modern era, many tools are available to identify scams or fraudulent operations.Regulators in most jurisdictions are constantly policing against these forms of market abuse and it is important to check these registers before actually investing in dubious opportunities. Read this Term.
On Monday, the regulator said that the defendant has agreed to pay more than $250,000 to resolve the regulator’s action against her. However, also she will be paying the funds without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint.
Specifically, Ms. Burkholz has agreed to the entry of a final judgment which orders her to pay $258,821 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest on a joint and several basis with Mr. Burkholz. This figure represents the investor funds he shared with her, the SEC said on Monday.
Furthermore, the US authority said that Burkholz received proceeds from an options trading Ponzi scheme which was conducted by her husband and others who scammed at least 55 investors.
SEC filed the complaint in 2019
The complaint from the regulator, which was filed on the 14th of November 2019, alleged that Neil Burkholz, his business partner, Frank Bianco, and their companies Palm Financial Management, LLC and Shore Management Systems, LLC were part of the scam.
In particular, they attracted victims to their scam by pretending their proprietary options trading strategies were highly profitable, the regulator said. However, as outlined in the complaint, the defendants invested less than half of investor funds and those investments resulted in near-total losses.
The remaining investor money was used to repay other investors and, according to the SEC, $880,000 of investor funds was transferred to Ms. Burkholz and to Mr. Burkholz, Bianco, and Bianco's wife, Suzanne Bianco, for personal use.
In addition, the US agency said in its complaint that the defendants sent false reports to investors which concealed their fraudulent behaviour and gave investors the impression they were making money, instead of losing it.
“In February, the court ordered Palm Management and Shore Management to pay over $1.2 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. The SEC intends to seek approval from the court to establish a fair fund to distribute money received from the defendants and relief defendants to harmed investors."
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this week that the US District Court of the Southern District of Florida entered a final judgment against relief defendant Rhoda Burkholz, in their role in a Ponzi Scheme Ponzi Scheme A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and funds. This can unravel quickly should investors request or demand repayment or lose faith in whatever assets they are supposed to own.While earlier episodes of this scam were carried out historically, the name Ponzi scheme is associated with Charles Ponzi in the 1920s.His original scam was based on the legitimate arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps. This eventually gave way to diverting new investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and to himself.How to Identify Ponzi Schemes?Like any scam, Ponzi schemes follow a few basic trends that investors should be mindful of. A healthy amount of skepticism in regards to investing should always be present, which should help identify ways that scams look to market themselves.For example, Ponzi schemes almost always require an initial investment and promise above average returns. This also includes purposely vague or arbitrary terminology to help confuse more novice investors. This fraud is riddled with mentions of "high-yield investment programs", "offshore investment", or “guaranteed returns”.Any sort of investment opportunity should always be analyzed and researched. In the modern era, many tools are available to identify scams or fraudulent operations.Regulators in most jurisdictions are constantly policing against these forms of market abuse and it is important to check these registers before actually investing in dubious opportunities. A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and funds. This can unravel quickly should investors request or demand repayment or lose faith in whatever assets they are supposed to own.While earlier episodes of this scam were carried out historically, the name Ponzi scheme is associated with Charles Ponzi in the 1920s.His original scam was based on the legitimate arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps. This eventually gave way to diverting new investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and to himself.How to Identify Ponzi Schemes?Like any scam, Ponzi schemes follow a few basic trends that investors should be mindful of. A healthy amount of skepticism in regards to investing should always be present, which should help identify ways that scams look to market themselves.For example, Ponzi schemes almost always require an initial investment and promise above average returns. This also includes purposely vague or arbitrary terminology to help confuse more novice investors. This fraud is riddled with mentions of "high-yield investment programs", "offshore investment", or “guaranteed returns”.Any sort of investment opportunity should always be analyzed and researched. In the modern era, many tools are available to identify scams or fraudulent operations.Regulators in most jurisdictions are constantly policing against these forms of market abuse and it is important to check these registers before actually investing in dubious opportunities. Read this Term.
On Monday, the regulator said that the defendant has agreed to pay more than $250,000 to resolve the regulator’s action against her. However, also she will be paying the funds without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint.
Specifically, Ms. Burkholz has agreed to the entry of a final judgment which orders her to pay $258,821 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest on a joint and several basis with Mr. Burkholz. This figure represents the investor funds he shared with her, the SEC said on Monday.
Furthermore, the US authority said that Burkholz received proceeds from an options trading Ponzi scheme which was conducted by her husband and others who scammed at least 55 investors.
SEC filed the complaint in 2019
The complaint from the regulator, which was filed on the 14th of November 2019, alleged that Neil Burkholz, his business partner, Frank Bianco, and their companies Palm Financial Management, LLC and Shore Management Systems, LLC were part of the scam.
In particular, they attracted victims to their scam by pretending their proprietary options trading strategies were highly profitable, the regulator said. However, as outlined in the complaint, the defendants invested less than half of investor funds and those investments resulted in near-total losses.
The remaining investor money was used to repay other investors and, according to the SEC, $880,000 of investor funds was transferred to Ms. Burkholz and to Mr. Burkholz, Bianco, and Bianco's wife, Suzanne Bianco, for personal use.
In addition, the US agency said in its complaint that the defendants sent false reports to investors which concealed their fraudulent behaviour and gave investors the impression they were making money, instead of losing it.
“In February, the court ordered Palm Management and Shore Management to pay over $1.2 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. The SEC intends to seek approval from the court to establish a fair fund to distribute money received from the defendants and relief defendants to harmed investors."