Another investor scam

Investors ignored their suspicions about troubled pilot

Excerpt:

"We had this site so we could all talk to each other for advice on retirement options, company news and mainly what to do with our money," said Joe Mazzone, 57. The Auburn, Alabama, pilot was looking for the right person to invest the nest egg he and his wife had spent decades growing.

"Go with Marcus, that's what I kept seeing. You could trust this guy. He was a pilot, and he understood us," said Mazzone, who gave Schrenker several hundred thousand dollars. "Talk about a regret."

Schrenker was found Tuesday night at a Florida campground with deep cuts to his wrists in an apparent suicide attempt. He had been on the run from federal authorities for three days.

The 38-year-old Indiana financial adviser is accused of trying to fake his death Sunday by making a bogus call to air traffic controllers that the window on his six-seater plane, which he scheduled to fly from Indiana to Destin, Florida, had imploded and he was bleeding, police say.

Schrenker had actually switched the plane to autopilot and parachuted out of the aircraft. The Piper PA-46 crashed in the swamps of Milton, Florida, not far from homes. No one on the ground was hurt.

Schrenker has been charged with unlawful acts by a compensated adviser and unlawful transaction by an investment adviser. He could face more federal charges. He is being guarded at a Tallahassee, Florida, hospital, and the court has issued an arrest warrant and set bail at $4 million cash. It's unclear if Schrenker has retained a lawyer.

In the months before the alleged stunt, the state of Indiana was investigating Schrenker on fraud allegations, and a Maryland court issued a $500,000 judgment against a company listed in his name. His wife had filed for divorce on December 30.

Comment: Like Tom Petters & Bernie Madoff