Bryan Zuzga, one of three people charged in a Clermont-based Ponzi scheme last year, has filed a plea agreement in his federal case.
Zuzga, of Michigan, had been released on bond since September. Zuzga is charged with impersonating a Florida attorney, assuring investors that their money was safe in an escrow account.
Zuzga and two others – Jenifer E. Hoffman of Clermont and John C. Boschert of Apopka – are accused of running a $25 million investment scheme with about 100 victims that dates to 2009. They worked under a company name, Assured Capital Consultants. Boschert pleaded guilty in October.
The money was supposed to be used as collateral to make investments, but it never was, according to the charges. Instead, investors only got paid when new money came into the scheme, the classic definition of a Ponzi scheme.
According to court documents, Hoffman collected the most money from the scheme. A trial is still pending in her case for July 6 in Ocala.
Hoffman recently substituted a new attorney on her case, replacing Attorney Stephen Calvacca of NeJame Law in favor of Thomas Sommerville.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
