Feb 17, 2026
As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Florida resident Jessica Gipson spent her 20s saving money so she could invest in real estate. Then she met a man through mutual connections who said he was working on a great trading deal and the timing seemed right (1).
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"He felt very trustworthy,” she told CBS News Miami. “We had spent some time together. It's not like I had met someone and we were just going off of a whim."
The man, identified as Alex Lee Moore, showed her a one-page contract indicating that if she invested $25,000 with him, she’d get a tenfold return of $250,000 on Jan. 17 2025 — plus 40 follow-up weekly performance checks.
Gipson said she only had $21,000 in savings to invest, but he said that was fine. She signed the contract. And that’s the last she saw of her $21,000 investment — or any money at all from Moore.
Gipson told CBS News Miami that when she started reaching out to him last January, he was evasive.
“There’s a different excuse of ‘The money is backed up’, or ‘The deal didn’t go through’ or ‘The person who was supposed to pay on the deal didn’t go through,’” she said.
She sent Moore a letter of withdrawal and demand letters (one written by her lawyer) to no avail, then filed a police report.
The police told Moore it was a civil matter. She did file a suit in Florida Circuit Court last August, but the case was not settled in court (2).
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In desperation, she reached out to CBS News Miami. When the media outlet got in touch with Moore, he told them not to run the story. He has still not returned Gipson’s money.
She told CBS News that it’s been a tough lesson and admits it was a too-good-to-be-true deal.
It’s not only tricky for victims of investment scams to pursue justice, it’s tough for prosecutors too.
Here’s why, and how to protect yourself.
Financial fraud is hard to prosecute
Investment scams are a massive part of the modern financial landscape.
The Federal Trade Commission reports that consumers lost $4.6 billion to investment scams in 2023. By 2024, that figure rose to $5.7 billion, with a median loss of over $9,000 for victims (3).
Unfortunately, prosecuting fraudsters in civil court is notoriously difficult. Federal prosecutors filed charges in only 24% of white-collar criminal referrals in 2025 (4).
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The standard of proof required to convict someone of financial fraud is relatively high. It requires clear and convincing evidence.
The plaintiff must prove that it is highly probable that the defendant intentionally made a material misrepresentation that the plaintiff justifiably relied upon, resulting in actual loss.
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Due diligence and the path to recovery
Contract law attorney Raul Gastesi told CBS News Miami that anyone considering making an investment should do their due diligence first, examining:
- tax returns
- bank deposits
- profit and loss statements
You may also want to example any other available background such as media coverage or press releases
Due diligence also includes reaching out to an independent accountant and lawyer to ensure the business is viable and transparent.
Gipson didn’t question the outsized returns Moore was offering, but as most investment materials will tell you, projected returns are not guaranteed returns.
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Her defenses may have been down when she was talking to Moore because she met him through mutual connections.
But in affinity fraud, scammers leverage personal connections to bypass a victim's natural skepticism.
That’s why it’s wise to also do a background check on the person asking you to invest with them.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and sites like Investor.gov provide resources to check the registration of investment professionals.
If you have already transferred money in a suspicious deal, time is of the essence.
- Contact your bank or payment provider immediately to see if the transaction can be stopped or reversed.
- Report the matter to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or state regulators if a financial professional is involved.
- Contact police
- Contact the Securities and Exchange Commission, the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission to help them track patterns of fraud and support broader enforcement efforts.
Even when a signed agreement exists, the presence of fraud can shift the matter into the criminal realm, making official documentation of the incident vital for the success of a case.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
CBS News Miami (1); Law.com (2); Federal Trade Commission (3); Cleary Gottlieb (4)
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Will Kenton is a personal finance writer with a Master's degree in Economics who has been published in Investopedia, AP News, TIME Stamped and Business Insider among other publications.
