$847K judgment against Generation Zoe scammers in US

Generation Zoe scammers in Florida have been hit with an $847,159 judgment.

The judgment was issued earlier this month by a state-level Dade County Court.

Following collapse of the Generation Zoe Ponzi in early 2022, sixteen plaintiff victims from Florida, Spain, Chile and Colombia filed a case against their recruiters.

Named defendants in the civil suit were Zoe Global University and Florida-based individuals Pablo, Matias and Agustin Monteleone.

Following answers filed by all four defendants last September and again in December, plaintiffs filed for judgment on their pleadings on January 9th.

A hearing was held on the motion on March 3rd, after which a final judgment was issued on March 7th.

The judgment found that plaintiff’s proceedings

establish that it is undisputed that:

(i) PABLO MONTELEONE, MATIAS MONTELEONE, AGUSTIN MONTELEONE, and ZOE GLOBAL UNIVERSITY, LLC sold to Plaintiffs investment products which provided Plaintiffs an expectation of profits to be derived solely from the efforts of others and which constitute securities regulated by the Florida Securities and Investor Protection Act;

(ii) At all relevant times, Defendants were not registered with Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation;

(iii) The securities which Defendants sold to Plaintiffs were never registered with Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation;

(iv) Defendants personally participated in the unlawful sale of unregistered securities to Plaintiffs;

(v) Plaintiffs paid to Defendants $847,159.00 for the securities; and

(vi) Plaintiffs never received the contemplated returns on investment, and Defendants never returned to Plaintiffs the monies which Plaintiffs provided to Defendants for the securities.

Consequently the court ordered the defendants jointly liable for an $847,159 recovery.

Getting that amount however might prove challenging.

On March 21st Plaintiffs filed a motion for writ of garnishment.

At this time, there still remains due and unpaid on said Judgment the sum of $847,159.00, plus post judgment interest accruing at the current rate of 5.52% per annum.

Plaintiffs do not believe that Defendants, are in possession of visible property in the State of Florida and in Miami-Dade County upon which a levy can be made sufficient to satisfy the Judgment.

The Plaintiffs have reason to believe that the above-named Garnishee has in said Garnishee’s possession or control, monies belonging to the Defendant ZOE GLOBAL UNIVERSITY, LLC.

Zoe Global University was a shell company the Monteleones recruited Generation Zoe victims through.

Therefore, Plaintiffs request that they be granted a writ of garnishment against the mentioned Garnishee as to whatever tangible and intangible personal property of Defendants that garnishee has in its possession or control.

As at time of publication, a decision on the pending garnishment motion remains pending.