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Crowdfrauding: Avoiding Ponzi entrepreneurs when investing in new ventures

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  • Baucus, Melissa S.
  • Mitteness, Cheryl R.

Abstract

Crowdfunding has gained substantial interest in the U.S., allowing entrepreneurs to raise startup capital in exchange for equity in their ventures. This approach to equity capital can open up new sources of venture finance to legitimate entrepreneurs, but little attention has been given to how it offers new opportunities for illegal entrepreneurs to defraud investors. We adopt a forensic approach to examine entrepreneurs who launch Ponzi ventures—businesses that continually bring in new investors in order to use their money to pay returns to earlier investors—to demonstrate the ease, creativity, and audacity with which these illegal entrepreneurs operate. The provided examples of Ponzi entrepreneurs show how easily they can circumvent the safeguards purported to protect investors: screening by ‘the crowd,’ transparency and documentation requirements, independent audit reports, and withholding of funds until the venture's financial goal has been met. In this article, we offer possible solutions to help protect investors, legitimate entrepreneurs, and business in general from the damage created by illegal entrepreneurs.

Suggested Citation

  • Baucus, Melissa S. & Mitteness, Cheryl R., 2016. "Crowdfrauding: Avoiding Ponzi entrepreneurs when investing in new ventures," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 37-50.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:59:y:2016:i:1:p:37-50
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2015.08.003
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    Cited by:

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    6. Zhu, Anding & Fu, Peihua & Zhang, Qinghe & Chen, Zhenyue, 2017. "Ponzi scheme diffusion in complex networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 479(C), pages 128-136.
    7. Evila Piva & Cristina Rossi-Lamastra, 2018. "Human capital signals and entrepreneurs’ success in equity crowdfunding," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 667-686, October.
    8. Yu-Kai Lin & Arun Rai & Yukun Yang, 2022. "Information Control for Creator Brand Management in Subscription-Based Crowdfunding," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(3), pages 846-866, September.
    9. Richard J. Arend, 2021. "The Nefarious Hierarchy: An Alternative New Theory of the Firm," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, February.
    10. Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio & Natalicchio, Angelo & Panniello, Umberto & Roma, Paolo, 2019. "Understanding the crowdfunding phenomenon and its implications for sustainability," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 138-148.
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    12. Groza, Mya Pronschinske & Groza, Mark D. & Barral, Luis Miguel, 2020. "Women backing women: The role of crowdfunding in empowering female consumer-investors and entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 432-442.
    13. Bruno Torres & Zélia Serrasqueiro & Márcio Oliveira, 2024. "Portugal’s Crowdfunding: A Systematic Literature Review," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-32, January.
    14. Tanja Jovanović, 2019. "Crowdfunding: What Do We Know So Far?," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(01), pages 1-25, February.
    15. Ferreira, Valeria & Papaoikonomou, Eleni & Terceño, Antonio, 2022. "Unpeel the layers of trust! A comparative analysis of crowdfunding platforms and what they do to generate trust," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 7-19.
    16. Zhao, Liang & Shneor, Rotem & Sun, Zhe, 2022. "Skin in the game: Self-funding and reward crowdfunding success," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 89-100.
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    18. David J. Scheaf & Matthew S. Wood, 2022. "Entrepreneurial Fraud: A Multidisciplinary Review and Synthesized Framework," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 607-642, May.

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