You can lose a lot of money in a Ponzi scheme. And the international scheme investigators and plaintiffs say was concocted by a graduate of the University of Miami is no exception.  Investigators say investors may have been bilked out of more than $30 million.

According to the FBI’s definition, a Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud where the bad guy promises high financial returns that are not available through traditional investments.  The scheme generally falls apart when there are not enough new investors to keep the money rolling in.  This type of fraud was named after Charles Ponzi of Boston, Mass., who offered his investors a guaranteed 50 percent return on their investment in postal coupons – of course, the scheme fell apart in the end, and the investors lost fortunes. 
 
Authorities say there tend to be more Ponzi schemes in a poor economy where desperate people seem to fall for pitches on easy ways to make quick cash.
 
But universities are filled with smart people.  They wouldn’t fall for one of the oldest tricks in the book, would they?
 
Investigators and some of the alleged victims say that’s exactly what happened:  The accused perpetrator was allegedly allowed to use a university conference room for investor meetings and UM computers to track all the money.  University employees say they chose to invest, lured by promised returns, in some cases, of 18%.

The university says it’s aware of the investigation into the alleged scheme, and that “a few current or former employees” invested.

“University funds are not involved,” UM spokeswoman Margot Winick told CNN. “The university will cooperate fully with the investigation.”

When CNN found out about this alleged Ponzi, we set up an interview with a current university employee who says she lost a substantial amount of money, and who said she would tell us what she knew.
 
We actually drove to her Miami home to interview her on camera.  We showed up on time, knocked on her door, but there was no answer.  I called her to let her know we had arrived, and that’s when she told us that the university media relations spokesperson advised her not to talk to CNN.  I was surprised, considering it was her own money that was lost, not the university’s money.  So, why were they stopping her from sharing her story?  She told us she was concerned she could lose her job if she told us everything she knew, so, at the last minute, she understandably backed out.
 
It got us wondering: is there more to the story?
 
We’re going to keep digging.  Meanwhile, tonight you’ll get to see what we’ve learned so far.