YouTube Finance Guru Tai Lopez Was Just Indicted For Running A $112 Million Alleged Ponzi Scheme

For a few years in the mid-2010s, it was almost impossible to watch a YouTube video without first being shown a Tai Lopez pre-roll ad. In case that name is not familiar, I'm positive that you've seen his ad at some point. He was the guy in the garage with the Lamborghini, claiming he had to install seven new bookshelves to hold all the books he was reading. This video:

Love him or hate him – and a lot of people hated him – Lopez became, arguably, the internet's most famous "finance guru," selling courses and mentorship programs that promised to unlock the secrets of wealth.

If you are a Tai Lopez hater, and, to reiterate, there are A LOT of Tai Lopez haters, over the weekend, you probably poured yourself a tall glass of delicious haterade because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission just indicted him on charges of securities fraud.

According to federal prosecutors, Lopez, his partner Alex Mehr, and his cousin Maya Birkenroad raised more than $112 million from hundreds of investors between 2020 and 2022 through their company Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV). Prosecutors allege that the money was used to prop up failing retail acquisitions, pay old investors with new investors' money, and enrich Lopez personally.

The $112 Million Alleged Ponzi Scheme

REV was Lopez's big pivot away from YouTube courses into brick-and-mortar commerce. The idea was to buy the intellectual property of bankrupt retail brands — including RadioShack, Pier 1 Imports, Stein Mart, Dressbarn, Franklin Mint, Modell's Sporting Goods, and Linens 'N Things — and relaunch them as e-commerce stores.

To fund these deals, Lopez and Mehr allegedly sold investors unsecured notes promising up to 25% annual returns and equity shares that paid monthly dividends of more than 2%. They assured investors that the companies were profitable and "cash flow strong."

The SEC says those claims were outright lies. None of the revived brands turned a profit. Instead, Lopez and Mehr allegedly used new investor money to pay old investors — a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. At least $5.9 million of "returns" were allegedly Ponzi-like payments. Investigators also say Lopez misappropriated more than $12.5 million for his own use through a shell company.

By late 2022, investor payments had stopped. In 2023, REV's assets were foreclosed on by creditors, effectively wiping out the empire.

(Photo by Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images for Treats Magazine )

The Charges

The SEC's 31-page complaint accuses Lopez, Mehr, and REV COO (and Lopez's cousin) Maya Burkenroad of multiple counts of securities fraud. The government is seeking permanent injunctions, civil penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and a lifetime officer-and-director bar that would ban Lopez from ever running a public company again.

If the charges are proven in court, Lopez could be facing devastating financial penalties and the end of his career as an entrepreneur.

From Lamborghini to the Courtroom

Lopez once called himself proof that the American dream was alive, leveraging personal branding into online fame and fortune. But his story now seems to be another case study in overpromising, overselling, and eventually being unable to deliver.

The man who became famous for telling viewers "knowledge" was the real key to wealth now faces the possibility of losing not just his fortune, but also his reputation and freedom.