Michelle McPhee

George just came off a day where he verified a half a dozen VINs on some supercars, toured a yacht, and eyeballed a bucketload of rocks and watches.

George just came off a day where he verified a half a dozen VINs on some supercars, toured a yacht, and eyeballed a bucketload of rocks and watches.

The rate George was promised was 36% a year. put that another way, imagine if you could wave a magic wand and make 11 grand in three months, not lifting a finger. And George was confused too. Who's on the other end of these loans? What kind of person can afford that much interest but is that cash poor?

The rate George was promised was 36% a year. put that another way, imagine if you could wave a magic wand and make 11 grand in three months, not lifting a finger. And George was confused too. Who's on the other end of these loans? What kind of person can afford that much interest but is that cash poor?

And this might not make sense to you and me, but George lived in the OC. He told me he knew somebody who said he was worth $100 million after doing a decade of hard money lending. Imagined. you took that 125,000 and invested it for a full year, by the end, you'd have almost 200 grand. In 10 years, by then you've made around $4 million. And why stop investing at 125K?

And this might not make sense to you and me, but George lived in the OC. He told me he knew somebody who said he was worth $100 million after doing a decade of hard money lending. Imagined. you took that 125,000 and invested it for a full year, by the end, you'd have almost 200 grand. In 10 years, by then you've made around $4 million. And why stop investing at 125K?

At that rate, which is better than almost anything else out there, why not pour in your whole savings account? What if you discovered the secret for getting not just comfortable, but filthy, stinking rich? George became more and more involved in Sarah's business. They were going out for lunch. Each time, Sarah was dropping a couple of hundos on the table for the bill.

At that rate, which is better than almost anything else out there, why not pour in your whole savings account? What if you discovered the secret for getting not just comfortable, but filthy, stinking rich? George became more and more involved in Sarah's business. They were going out for lunch. Each time, Sarah was dropping a couple of hundos on the table for the bill.

So George was doing his part, being an IT business guy and all.

So George was doing his part, being an IT business guy and all.

This online setup could take the whole operation to the next level, make their lone mafia legit. But George started hearing hints, just little whispers, that people were after Sarah.

This online setup could take the whole operation to the next level, make their lone mafia legit. But George started hearing hints, just little whispers, that people were after Sarah.

George got spooked, but not enough to quit. He was still on board with the idea of becoming the loan mafia of the OC. So he was still moving forward with his part of the operation, getting the business online.

George got spooked, but not enough to quit. He was still on board with the idea of becoming the loan mafia of the OC. So he was still moving forward with his part of the operation, getting the business online.

It's a fucking mess. He said she couldn't find the paperwork for a single loan.

It's a fucking mess. He said she couldn't find the paperwork for a single loan.

So how did that little piece of chicken scratch turn into a Rolls Royce? How exactly was Sarah able to run a financial business with such sloppy accounting? One of the ideas that's come up is the possibility that Sarah was never actually a lender at all. She was just taking investments, taking money. I've heard this from several people we've interviewed.

So how did that little piece of chicken scratch turn into a Rolls Royce? How exactly was Sarah able to run a financial business with such sloppy accounting? One of the ideas that's come up is the possibility that Sarah was never actually a lender at all. She was just taking investments, taking money. I've heard this from several people we've interviewed.

The idea is she was running a Ponzi scheme from the very beginning, using new investments to pay old ones.

The idea is she was running a Ponzi scheme from the very beginning, using new investments to pay old ones.