Ohio Podcaster Accused of $11 Million Ponzi Scheme

The “Cash Flow King” is allegedly nothing more than a court jester.

On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged podcast host Matthew Motil with running an $11 million Ponzi scheme. The Ohio man allegedly defrauded more than 50 investors in a real estate scheme.

Motil promised low-risk, high-return promissory notes supposedly collateralized by first mortgages on homes in Ohio, according to the complaint. He allegedly promoted the investments on his website and podcast, where he said any potential investor could become a “real estate investing badass.”

Motil said he would pay investor returns from profits that came from flipping and renting the involved properties, according to the complaint. But Motil didn’t secure first lien positions as promised, the SEC alleged, and instead proceeded to sell multiple promissory notes he said were secured by the properties to multiple investors.

Among his alleged misdeeds, Motil once sold more than $1 million in promissory notes to 20 investors, each note purportedly collateralized by a property he acquired for $47,000. The complaint alleges Motil passed on doing renovations to instead make payments to previous investors and fund his own lavish lifestyle, renting a lakeside mansion, buying courtside NBA season tickets and making $400,000 in credit card payments for his wife, a relief defendant in the case.

Motil’s alleged targets included an armed forces officer and a cancer researcher, among others. In addition to the fraud accusations, Motil also faces allegations of forging signatures and misusing a notary’s seal, a crime in Ohio, according to CNBC.

Motil kept his scheme going despite filing for bankruptcy in Ohio last March, according to the regulator. His bankruptcy case is being contested by the U.S. Trustee as Motil seeks to discharge money owed to investors.

The SEC is seeking injunctive relief, penalties on the profit Motil allegedly made plus prejudgment interest and civil monetary penalties. The regulator also wants to implement an officer and director bar.