A Prince George’s County judge on Thursday froze the assets of a Laurel business that he ruled took about $50 million from more than 1,000 people.
Circuit Judge Thomas P. Smith ruled that POS Dream Homes was running an unregistered investment scheme disguised as a mortgage payment plan. He froze the company’s assets, placing it under the financial control of the
court.
POS Dream Homes, which has offices in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia and also operates under the name Metropolitan Grapevine, gave its investors a chance to live mortgage-free for an initial payment of 15 percent of the home’s value. POS promised to pay the homeowner’s mortgage within five to seven years, after which the company and the investor would each own 50 percent of the home, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s office, which in August ordered the company to stop doing new business after determining it was not registered with the state’s securities commission.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission also ordered POS to stop doing new business in that state in early September.
The company told investors the money for the mortgage payments would come from its investment in “POS cafes,” affiliated businesses that included automated teller machines.
But Judge Smith found that the company’s businesses produced no real revenue and that POS was up to $300 million in debt. The company was paying previous investors with funds from new investors, he determined.
A Prince George’s County court-appointed receiver will collect any money that belongs to
the company and refund it to investors and creditors, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said.
A Maryland federal District Court judge issued a similar opinion in September when POS owner Andrew Williams appealed the attorney general’s restraining order.
POS’s investment model had “the essential attributes of a classic Ponzi or pyramid scheme,” Judge Roger Titus said, but for procedural reasons did not issue a ruling.
This is not the first time Williams has run into trouble in Maryland — he was permanently barred from selling securities in the state in 2001.
Ramone Korionoff, spokesman for Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey, said the office is investigating whether Williams and his associates were involved in criminal activity.
“Should there be criminal involvement or participation
by an any all parties, we’ll take appropriate action at that time,” he said.
