John and Marian Morgan

The lavish lifestyle of John and Marian Morgan was accomplished through a $28 million Ponzi scheme, through their Morgan European Holdings company.

Through their brokerage company, Morgan European Holdings, they promised a monthly yield of 30 to 70 percent to their investors from 2005 through 2009.

The Morgans’ attorney, Eli Heckscher, allegedly was the middle man in the scam. Marian Morgan was telling Heckscher to transfer investors’ money back to a separate corporate bank account in Sarasota, where the Morgans used it to pay for their various personal expenses, including their multi-million dollar mansion. The authorities soon caught on to the scheme after learning of a sophisticated land trust that kept the Morgan names out of property records. The case against the Morgans started out as a federal civil fraud case but escalated into much more once they fled to Europe.

Communications between Marian Morgan and Heckscher alluded to the securities fraud. Marian wrote, “They cannot serve us in Europe. Please don’t be worried about your funds. They are completely out of the USA jurisdiction and we will have all funds wired before anyone can even begin to look at anything.” Marian then advised her clients to “leave out the use of Morgan European Holdings, if questioned by authorities.” Marian Morgan, now 59, lost her case in a jury trial and will now spend the next 33 years in prison. John Morgan, now 55, copped a plea and will serve 10 years. Eli Heckscher, the Danish lawyer who aided in the scheme, has been indicted on numerous charges and also faces indictment in Tampa federal court.