Almost 30 years ago, a teenage Michael Scronic helped make headlines in a tony New York suburb in a fight to force his high school to abandon a mascot some considered racist. Today, Scronic is the talk of the adjacent town of Pound Ridge after he was charged with ripping off friends and neighbors of $19 million in a Ponzi scheme.
At least 45 people invested with Scronic over seven years, putting up anywhere from $23,000 to $2.4 million, according to federal prosecutors. Scronic claimed he had delivered double-digit returns and promised quick and easy access to their money, the U.S. said.
