Ponzi scheme victim speaks out after losing investment

By Jennifer Mayerle

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Victims of an alleged multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme run by a Shakopee couple are speaking out about being duped.

Tracy Andrews and several of her family and friends invested with Jason Bullard and his wife Angela, and are still coming to terms with what’s happened. Andrews is one of roughly 200 people who invested nearly $18 million with the Bullards since 2007.

“He’s from our hometown area, this panhandle of Oklahoma, in a little town, area called Shaddick, Oklahoma. Everybody knows everybody,” she said.

Her family signed on with the Bullards, being told their money would be invested in foreign currency. Andrews says they received monthly profit statements.

A civil complaint filed by the SEC revealed some of the investor funds went quote “to pay other investors in Ponzi-style payments,” also going to fund their other businesses, including Empire Racing Stables (which races horses at Canterbury Park), and to fund their lifestyle.

“I don’t understand it. I hate it for all of the victims, it just kills me for everybody. We’ll be OK, there’s a lot of people that will be OK, but there’s a lot that won’t,” Andrews said.

She says some are retirees in their 70s who trusted the Bullards with their entire savings.

“What does that to someone? It’s hard to even imagine,” she said.

Andrews says looking back now there were some red flags over the years. Now she’s focused on making sure the Bullards are held accountable.

“You can let this eat at you and turn you sour on life, on people, and you can’t let that happen,” she said.

Last week a judge granted a motion to freeze the couple’s assets. The Bullards have one more day to give the court the estimated value of all property, along with how much investors say they are owed.

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