Md. investment firm suspended, fined $17.2 million for defrauding investors in a $30 million Ponzi scheme

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (7News) — According to Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s securities division, three Maryland residents were barred from the securities and investment advisory business in Maryland for running a Ponzi scheme that netted nearly $30 million.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Prince George’s County Circuit Court issued orders against Mathias Bama, Valentine Bama and Hilaire Leunkam.

The trio running Prosperity Partners, Inc. and Prosperity Medical and Health System were found to have violated the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the Maryland Securities Act. The orders prohibited any person from engaging in the securities and investment advisory business in Maryland and imposed a fine of $17,200,540.

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Prosperity Partners, Inc. promised investors a 6% monthly return for 12 months and a 72% annual return on its notes, according to the OAG.

However, according to an OAG investigation, Prosperity Partners, Inc. did not invest in the funds and apparently operated a Ponzi scheme by making payments to investors with their own capital or from new investors’ investment funds.

Prosperity Partners, Inc. sold over $28,909,000 in securities to more than 585 investors in Maryland and nationwide.

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Prosperity Partners, Inc. and Prosperity Medical and Health System, LLC are both in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. Independent parties have been assembled to organize the assets of Prosperity Partners, Inc. for the benefit of creditors, including investors.

“When Marylanders give their hard-earned money to businesses, they trust it will be protected and put to good use. “Investments are made in the hope of a better future, and companies that put the futures of hardworking families at risk will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Brown. “We will continue to protect Maryland investors by holding fraudsters accountable.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story previously said the defendants had been charged. 7News learned that the case was a civil case, not a criminal case, which resulted in them being banned from conducting securities and investment advisory business in Maryland. The story above has been updated to reflect this.