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It’s 2006, and you just received a phone call about an exciting opportunity in real estate development. A company called Cobalt has been acquiring, developing, and marketing residential properties for decades, and it’s looking for new investors. Under the leadership of CEO William Foster, the company has acquired several well-known hotels in Miami. Some of the properties have earned returns as high as 204%!
It’s a great story. Too bad none of it is true.
William Foster isn’t running the firm, and the company doesn’t own those hotels. In fact, the company hasn’t made a single dime.
The real story of Cobalt is much darker. It involves a boiler room run by a former associate of the Wolf of Wall Street, and a Ponzi scheme run by a convicted fraudster. It’s a crazy story, I know. But then Donald Trump got involved.
Hang tight, this episode is going to get ugly.