Botfly LLC

On April 1, 2010, the Attorney General’s Office filed an enforcement action against Botfly L.L.C. and its principals, David R. Lewalski, and Jon J. Hammill. The lawsuit alleges that Botfly L.L.C. engaged in a Ponzi scheme, and violated Florida law. Relevant pleadings can be found here, and will be updated as appropriate: Hearing Transcript - 4/07/2010

http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/4EECC2E2447D9D11852576F900613827.

On April 1, 2010, the Circuit Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit issued an order freezing all bank accounts and appointed a receiver to collect the remaining funds and property purchased with investor funds. The receiver is Michael Moecker & Associates and may be contacted at 954 252-1560.. Please identify yourself as a Botfly investor. The receiver is represented by the law firm, Bush Ross, P.A. The receiver must file a report with the court detailing its findings. The receiver does not work for the Attorney General’s Office.

If you would like more information about the Attorney General’s lawsuit, please call our office at 850-414-3990 or our fraud hot line at 866-966-7226 . Additional filings may be obtained from the Pasco County Clerk’s office. The case number for this litigation is 51-2010-CA-2912-WS/G. Please note, however, that a protective order is in place to protect certain information regarding investors, and certain information may be withheld from the Clerk’s office, or redacted entirely.

What is a Ponzi scheme?
A Ponzi scheme is a scheme in which investors are usually promised an unrealistic rate of return in exchange for an investment. It is also usually represented that the funds will be invested in such a manner that no one else knows about or has the same competence as the principals in the scheme. The funds are not invested as represented and initial investors are paid interest and principal from new investors and not from investment activity. The scheme collapses when new investments no longer can sustain the interest and principal payments. At that point there is little left for investors to recover. If the scheme can be detected before its collapse, more funds can be preserved for defrauded investors. The fact that investors receive interest and principal payments does not mean that there is not a Ponzi scheme; it means only that those investors were paid by funds collected from subsequent investors rather than investment proceeds. Ponzi schemes can continue for many years undetected before collapse as long as new investors can be recruited.

File a Complaint
If you would like to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, you may use our online complaint form available at http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.