BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced two people have been arrested in a Central Florida Ponzi scheme.
FDLE said victims were from Orange County and Brevard County.
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David Wade Watson, 62, of Cape Canaveral, is facing an organized scheme to defraud charge and Rajshree Patel 45, of DeLand, is also facing an organized scheme to defraud charge.
Investigators said Watson and Patel are accused of defrauding the victims of nearly $2.5 million.
FDLE said Watson and Patel are accused of telling the victims Watson was awaiting billions of dollars in settlements from the government.
Watson is accused of telling the victims he needed more money to help settle the lawsuits, according to FDLE.
Investigators said Watson told the victims he would pay them millions or billions of dollars for every $1,000 they invested.
Both suspects are accused of saying one of the lawsuits stemmed from Watson’s work as a classified agent with the federal government, according to FDLE.
FDLE said in a different scam, the suspects told the victims Watson had started a film company and asked them to invest in the company.
Investigators said Watson and Patel created fraudulent statements to fool the victims.
Most of the investigator’s money was used for Patel and Watson to live an extravagant lifestyle, according to FDLE.
The suspects were arrested Friday morning and were transported to different county jails.
Bond has been set at $250,000 for each suspect.