Most successful Ponzi scheme in EVE Online

On 12 August 2011, EVE Online's Phaser Inc., an investment company within New Eden, and set up by players Eddie Lampert and Mordor Exuel, was closed down. Phaser Inc. had promised a 5% weekly return on any ISK invested by players. More than 8,000 players invested in what turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. None of the money invested in Phaser Inc. was actually invested in any proper business enterprise. Instead, the company kept the investments and paid out its weekly 5% returns from the player investments themselves. When Lampert and Exuel terminated Phaser Inc., they were left with 1.033 trillion ISK of money from investors, equivalent to more than $50,000 in real-world money.

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