Thinking about how a fool and his money are soon parted as I read the New York Times business section

 Crooked Turn

2 in Florida Are Charged In $22 Million Ponzi Scheme. (The New York Times, 8/30/2011)

Excerpt:   The two, James D. Risher and Daniel Sebastian, fraudulently lured more than 100 investors with promises of annual returns of as much as 124 percent, the S.E.C. said Monday in a lawsuit filed in United States District Court in Florida. Mr. Risher, who spent 11 of the last 21 years in jail, used customers’ funds on jewelry, gifts and real estate in North Carolina and Florida, the S.E.C. said.