Georgia business owner, Florida attorney charged in $2-million Ponzi schemes, prosecutors say

Federal prosecutors have indicted a Duluth business owner and a former prosecutor living in Florida accused of running two multi-million-dollar Ponzi schemes for years.

Investigators say 70-year-old Roosevelt Tobias "Toby" Bailey and 48-year-old Alvin Jones allegedly stole around $2 million from investors between 2018 and 2022.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia say that Bailey operated the schemes through his company, Borg Global. According to the indictment, Bailey promised investors that the company would pool investment funds to buy precious stones and metals outside the country and then resell them inside the United States, doubling their investment. Prosecutors say he also claimed that his company would lease or monit

Roosevelt Tobias "Toby" Bailey, a Duluth, Georgia resident, and Alvin Jones, a former prosecutor and current practicing attorney, have been indicted, arrested, and arraigned in federal court on charges arising from two alleged multi-year, multi-million-dollar Ponzi schemes. 

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the indictment, and information provided in court: From approximately October 2018 through October 2022, Bailey allegedly operated two fraudulent investment schemes through his company, Borg Global. 

The first scheme—called the Micro-Cap program—promised investors that Borg Global would pool investor funds to purchase precious stones and metals from outside the United States and then resell them for a higher price within the United States, effectively doubling the initial investments. 

He also claimed that the company would lease or monetize specific legal guarantees known as Standby Letter of Credit from banks, telling investors that he would take some of the proceeds of those leases to pay investors, prosecutors said. 

Instead of paying his victims back, investigators say Bailey funneled the money to himself for his own personal expenses, hiding his use of the funds by having his investors send the money to Jones' special lawyer accounts. Jones then kept a portion for himself and sent another part to previous investors to continue the scheme, prosecutors alleged.

Bailey received nearly $2 million in investor funds before he cut off communication with his victims in October 2022, officials said.

"Bailey allegedly lured investors based on promises of massive returns and false assurances that their investments would be held in Jones's trust accounts. But instead of safeguarding that money, Jones allegedly funneled it to Bailey, keeping a piece for himself, while investors lost their savings," U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said.

In September, a federal grand jury charged Bailey with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and three counts of money laundering. Jones was charged with one count of money laundering conspiracy and three counts of money laundering.

Bailey was arrested on Oct. 16. Jones was arrested on Tuesday.