{"id":249778,"date":"2022-12-26T19:43:38","date_gmt":"2022-12-27T01:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=249778"},"modified":"2022-12-26T23:44:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T05:44:07","slug":"las-vegas-life-coach-arrested-for-gambling-away-millions-in-ponzi-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-life-coach-arrested-for-gambling-away-millions-in-ponzi-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas \u2018Life Coach\u2019 Arrested for Gambling Away Millions in Ponzi Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Las Vegas man is in custody for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme in which he pretended to invest for clients in the stock market and on sports bets, promising them returns from 1% to 52%. Instead, their money funded a personal gambling addiction that saw him lose millions of their dollars in Las Vegas casinos.<\/p>\n

Rodney Buckle, 65, was arrested on Dec. 13, on a warrant for charges including securities fraud and theft, according to court documents identified by KLAS-TV. <\/em>Buckle\u2019s codefendant, Warisra Stevens, pleaded guilty last year to securities fraud and theft conspiracy charges. A judge sentenced her to a minimum of 19 months in prison.<\/p>\n

\"Rodney
Rodney Buckle, 65, was arrested on Dec. 13 on a 2017 warrant for fraud charges. (Image: LVMPD\/KLAS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This isn’t Buckle’s first tangle with authorities. According to KLAS,<\/em> the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a judgment in 1999 ordering him to pay $3 million in restitution to victims he sold $3 million worth of unregistered securities to while making false and misleading representations.<\/p>\n

Good Morning, Professor Ponzi!<\/h2>\n

This time around, Buckle gained his victims\u2019 trust by posing as an instructor in his money-making methods. Through businesses called Rodd University, Rodd United, and Rodd One, Buckle posed as a \u201clife coach and financial advisor,\u201d investigators with the Nevada Secretary of State\u2019s Office wrote in documents.<\/p>\n

At some point, Buckle would tell all his “students” that he required more money \u201cto create a \u2018waterfall\u2019 effect in order to generate \u2018new\u2019 money for investments\u201d that would guarantee their returns, investigators wrote. The victims then took out loans, refinanced their homes, or opened up new credit cards.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvestors stated that Buckle showed them a spreadsheet on his computer listing their name, and the amount they invested with him,\u201d investigators wrote, \u201cThe investment amounts ranged from anything to $100 to over $700,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevens, identified in documents as Buckle\u2019s girlfriend, told investigators that Buckle withdrew nearly $25,000 a week of his victims\u2019 money \u201cfor personal use and gambling.\u201d Buckle placed $2.4 million worth of wagers at the Westgate Hotel and Casino sportsbook, where he lost $76,000, according to investigators. He also bet $440,000 at the South Point casino and lost $434,000.<\/p>\n

State investigators were tipped off to Buckle\u2019s new businesses in 2017. They were contacted by a couple who complained when they were never paid the 50% percent return they were promised on tens of thousands they\u00a0 had given him. They were ignored when they asked Buckle for some of it back due to a recent cancer diagnosis, investigators said.<\/p>\n

In 2017, state investigators raided Buckle\u2019s residence, seizing items including computers and gaming tickets. A warrant for his and Stevens\u2019 arrest was issued in December 2019. According to KLAS,<\/em> it appeared as though Buckle turned himself in.<\/p>\n

A judge ordered Buckle held without bail, KLAS<\/em> reported. He is due in court in January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Las Vegas man is in custody for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme in which he pretended to invest for clients in the stock market and on sports bets, promising them returns from 1% to 52%. Instead, their money funded a personal gambling addiction that saw him lose millions of their dollars in Las Vegas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":249779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81886],"tags":[23,82308,84265,84266],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLas Vegas \u2018Life Coach\u2019 Arrested for Gambling Away Millions in Ponzi Scheme - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Las Vegas man is in custody for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme in which he pretended to invest for clients in the stock market and on sports bets,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-life-coach-arrested-for-gambling-away-millions-in-ponzi-scheme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Las Vegas \u2018Life Coach\u2019 Arrested for Gambling Away Millions in Ponzi Scheme - 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