The Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC, led by Robert H. Shapiro, was a purported real estate investment firm that raised over $1.2 billion from approximately 8,400 retail investors nationwide. The company claimed to make high-interest loans to third-party commercial property owners, promising investors annual returns of 5-10%. However, an SEC investigation revealed that the vast majority of these loans were shams, made to companies secretly owned by Shapiro. The business operated as a classic Ponzi scheme, using new investor money to pay returns to earlier investors. In December 2017, the SEC filed charges, leading to the company's bankruptcy and the establishment of the Woodbridge Liquidation Trust to recover and distribute assets to victims.

Founded in

United States