Let’s just say I put over $100,000 into this deal, money which I truly did not have to lose, it is effecting me big time.
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I have a promissory note, signed by him. I can not kiss the money goodbye, Bartko does claim even recently he is rebuilding Starfire and plans to pay the investors back…
First rule of investing is to never invest what you could not risk to lose. When I buy stock.. etc.. I mentally kiss the money goodbye. This way your head is clear to make decisions on cutting losses or taking a profit.
The previous statement is coming from experience. I have taken hits to my portfolio exceeding $100k and I am still alive, still have my health.. and still have money.
As for Starfire, this was only a Ponzi scheme. The new investor’s money was used to pay the previous investor’s interest and principal. This only works so long as a continually increasing stream of new investors is available. The ‘rebuilding’ that Bartko is trying to do is really trying to find new investors.
I have a friend who told me she had put money with Bartko years ago and he has proven to be a good investment over her “many years” and she told me she has recouped her initial investment may times over with him.
I would have a long hard talk with this friend.. and I suggest you realize this friend may not be what they claim. Remember that Starfire is a Ponzi scheme. This means that the money you put in may have allowed her to withdraw her money and get out. In this way, she may have also been complicit in the activities of Bartko.
I am not sure what Thunderblaze is or how that might help me.
Thunderblaze is the ‘investment’ arm of Starfire. It is an attempt to distance the acquisition of investors from Starfire and from Bartko himself. I am saying attempt because there are inconsistencies in how the ‘loan papers’ are written as well as how the shell corps are set up and used. There is also an issue with ‘conveyance’ of funds. Technically, you can consider Thunderblaze, Starfire and Bartko as one entity.
I have not spoken to any lawyer or anyone about this because I guess I have my head in the sand and hope he will continue to pay, he did pay for a short time and I guess my fear is if I rock the boat any chance of him paying me will go away.
This is why he pays for a short time… so you feel there is a chance he could resume paying. What he paid you was probably a small percentage of the funds you paid in.. and probably from the money you paid in.
I suggest an attorney, and possibly contacting the district attorney. Try to find others that have been scammed and also bring them to the district attorney. Fraud is known as a ‘wobbler’. It can be petty-misdemeanor stuff.. or can be a felony. What makes the difference is the amount of money involved. Last time I heard, the threshold between misdemeanor and felony for fraud was $5000. I think California is still a 3 strikes place.. 3 investors each with amount exceeding $5000, tried sequentially… who knows.
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on a side note, relative to investments. I also covered this in an earlier post on this thread. When the return is disproportionate to the risk, you need to take a real hard look at that investment. Always be aware of the zero risk rate of return (generally considered to be Treasury Bills). Any higher yield goes hand in hand with higher risk of loss of capital. If there wasn’t any increase in risk, more investors would flood in and in the process reduce the yield. Fraudsters claim outrageous yields in an attempt to hook people through their greed.
