For years, a West Chester woman appeared to be a rising star with a sympathetic story of a successful real estate career carved out of a devastating divorce and identity theft. But on Thursday federal authorities revealed an indictment that paints a very different picture.
Marie Miksche Bontigao has been charged with orchestrating a $2 million Ponzi scheme under the guise of her Tri-State Realty franchise of EXIT Realty, according to a Philadelphia Magazine report.
“The feds say Bontigao told investors her company was renovating a warehouse in Maryland and renovating properties in Philadelphia to resell at a profit,” the article stated. “She promised lenders a huge interest rate — from 10 to 40 percent — to be paid in monthly installments.”
But it was only a matter of time before she defaulted of those payments. She now stands to receive as many as 80 years in prison if convicted.
Read more about the alleged fraud and the charges in Philadelphia Magazine here.
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