Investors say ex-Grand Am driver Henri Zogaib told them not to discuss deal he was giving them
Henri Zogaib said he would give race-car driver Ryan Dalziel a deal that no one else could get.
The jet-setting race-car-team financier and driver told Dalziel he knew how to make a 38 percent profit within weeks by selling iron ore. He would let Dalziel in on it because he cared about him
"'One time thing, don't tell anybody. It's a secret,'" Dalziel recalled Zogaib telling him.
Zogaib seemed like a man who knew about money. He rode in private jets, drove Lamborghinis and Ferraris, and hired Dalziel to drive for the Samax Racing team, which competed on the Grand American Road Racing circuit. Dalziel trusted him, so he and his father invested $550,000 without signing a contract.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is investigating Zogaib, said he may have bilked dozens of investors out of $5.4 million or more in a Ponzi scheme. No arrests have been made.
Dalziel and others are coming forward to describe how they became Zogaib's clients, and some say the financial damage caused by the race-car driver and his business partner Paul Bellanca could be more serious than authorities have suggested.
"I think the damage created is tenfold of what's listed," said Brett Hartley, an attorney for two investors of Zogaib's Executive Investment Group LLC.
Zogaib counted a NASCAR driver, members of Daytona's racing scene, a doctor, an information-technology worker and a law-enforcement officer among his clients, according to court documents and interviews. Some of Zogaib's close friends say they became his clients.
Henri Zogaib investment scandal: Investors say ex-Grand Am driver Henri Zogaib told them not to discuss deal he was giving them - OrlandoSentinel.com
The jet-setting race-car-team financier and driver told Dalziel he knew how to make a 38 percent profit within weeks by selling iron ore. He would let Dalziel in on it because he cared about him
"'One time thing, don't tell anybody. It's a secret,'" Dalziel recalled Zogaib telling him.
Zogaib seemed like a man who knew about money. He rode in private jets, drove Lamborghinis and Ferraris, and hired Dalziel to drive for the Samax Racing team, which competed on the Grand American Road Racing circuit. Dalziel trusted him, so he and his father invested $550,000 without signing a contract.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is investigating Zogaib, said he may have bilked dozens of investors out of $5.4 million or more in a Ponzi scheme. No arrests have been made.
Dalziel and others are coming forward to describe how they became Zogaib's clients, and some say the financial damage caused by the race-car driver and his business partner Paul Bellanca could be more serious than authorities have suggested.
"I think the damage created is tenfold of what's listed," said Brett Hartley, an attorney for two investors of Zogaib's Executive Investment Group LLC.
Zogaib counted a NASCAR driver, members of Daytona's racing scene, a doctor, an information-technology worker and a law-enforcement officer among his clients, according to court documents and interviews. Some of Zogaib's close friends say they became his clients.
Henri Zogaib investment scandal: Investors say ex-Grand Am driver Henri Zogaib told them not to discuss deal he was giving them - OrlandoSentinel.com
