Any of you fine folks caught up in this? I am.

Basics: the investment was buying into a pool of ATMs which were administered by Paramount. In return, you received a fixed payment every month for 7 years. At the end of 7 years, that pool of ATMs would be sold, typically for scrap, and any proceeds distributed, but that was honestly de minimis. The value was in the monthly cash flow, which at the 7 year mark would just about double you investment. Any upside went to Paramount.

This was seen as a good, safe hedge investment to counter riskier stuff like real estate. Not sexy, but it paid. And did pay, for over 12 years. Right up until April 2024.

Since April, it has been new compliance excuses, and then waiting for a PE firm to buy the whole thing, turned into dodging, and eventually unraveling into what appears to be a big ponzi scheme. ATMs sitting in warehouses, real money paid for fake tax returns, bankers and lawyers and accountants and and syndicators all pointing fingers. It has been...educational.

Hopefully the main guy at Paramount, Daryl Heller, ends up in jail. We'll see what money the investors get back...I'm not counting on much.

Latest news story from the civil court case

I've been exposed to a lot of alternate investment strategies over the years, with ATMs being one of those. Several friends invested with a group (not sure if it's the same as in this article), but not coincidentally experienced the program going belly up last year.

Story I heard was the lead operator/Ponzi scheme king, got out over his skis and was using income from one investment to pay the next, etc, etc and it finally came down. One of my buddies was "lucky" as he'd been invested long enough to have gotten his principal back. Another one… well not so lucky. I was about to throw in early last year, right before it all went up in flames. Guess I was ultimately the luckiest one.

ETA-talked to my buddy and this is the same guy he got invested with

Here's some pretty good stories

https://www.inquirer.com/business/paramount-management-group-atms-turnpike-commission-investors-lawsuit-20241220.html

https://www.inquirer.com/business/paramount-management-atm-darryl-heller-20241211.html

Noticed this from a graphic;
Internal Rate of Return: 18.6%

Yikes! I came across this alternative investment through a podcast and was recommending a Sponsor. Was thinking of investing but then life got busy so lost track of it. When I had time to buckle down I went to the Sponsors website and noticed the ATM investment options weren't listed anymore... bullet dodged.

I'm in the industry, Paramount has been a customer/competitor.

They have been way overpaying for routes for the past 5 years at least. Like 50% more than we could justify…was clear to us that this outcome was only a matter of time.

A friend was a Delta pilot and invested in Horizon Private Equity BC it guaranteed a 7% return. The broker reeled in a ton of Delta pilots who got lump sums when Delta declared bankruptcy. The guy I know was in the process of getting a divorce and got his girlfriend involved, she was an Aggie. They got about half of their money back from a lawsuit claiming they thought they were investing with Oppenheimer. How a bunch of smart guys believed this scheme escapes me.
https://reiflawgroup.com/former-southport-capital-founder-and-former-oppenheimer-co-financial-advisor-charged-in-100-million-horizon-private-equity-ponzi-scheme/