Investors lose millions in reported scam

Energy is supposed to be the new frontier in investing - right? 

The 2NEWS Investigators found some con men are going to creative lengths to rob people of their money.

Tony Stueken says, “A lot of my family has been pushed OUT of retirement and back to work. They worked
their whole lives for this money just to have someone rip it out of their hands.”

Tony's family invested more than $400,000 in what they thought was a revolutionary product.

U.S. Postal Inspector Mark Hallisey says, “He proposed to develop, manufacture and market an electronic device that he stated would overcome electrical fluctuations in HVAC units in third world countries.”

Basically, the scammer said the machine would generate energy very cheaply, and everyone would want one.  He called it the  "Boydoplex" and showed investors pictures.  Close to 80 people believed it and invested more than $3 million.  they expected a 15% return.  The problem, the pictures were bogus, and the device didn't exist.

Tony says, “At first, I didn't believe it was a scam, everything they put together they presented to us, everything seemed real. “

Postal inspectors began tracking the case and arrested 55-year-old David Grammer for masterminding the scheme.

Hallisey says, “The suspect used the money solely for individual personal expenses.  A new house… on a lake, several automobiles, he started… a farming business, bought tractors, land things of that nature.”

Victims say the scam took a serious toll.

Tony says, “The financial burden is unbearable… a lot of my family is depressed after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Grammar was sentenced to 78 months in prison after pleading guilty to two felony counts of fraud.