"Investment fraud is preventable when you know what to look for. I expose the warning signs."
TRUSTED BY:
Also trusted by leading financial institutions, hedge funds, and family offices not listed to honor confidentiality.
"I saw James speak at an investor conference and immediately applied what I learned. A church member was asking people to invest in a multifamily real estate deal, so I investigated. Using James's tools, I found at least 12 red flags and didn't invest. Three months later, the church members who invested stopped receiving dividends and haven't recovered their money. James showed me exactly what to look for— he saved me from a significant loss."
Thomas S.
Real Estate Investor Conference, Chicago, Feb 2025
A new demo reel is coming soon.
See why event planners call James Brandolino "unforgettable."
In this reel, James uses natural documents from his fraudulent hedge fund to prove a powerful truth: investment fraud is preventable when investors know what to look for. He reveals why due diligence fails, where the real red flags hide, and how your audience can take back control of the investment process.
They'll leave with a clear roadmap—not platitudes—to protect their wealth.
WHY BOOK JAMES BRANDOLINO?
Meeting and event planners choose James because he delivers what fraud prevention keynotes rarely do— provides content audiences actually remember and use.
Your Event Becomes Unforgettable
A former Ponzi scheme operator speaking about fraud prevention generates buzz. Attendees won't just remember James—they'll tell colleagues about him for months after your event.
Audiences Gain Actionable Protection
Your attendees leave with James' Red Flag Report framework, a systematic process for evaluating any investment opportunity. Athletes learn to identify the same red flags that apply to any investment pitch. Athletic departments gain frameworks for educating student-athletes on financial predators who specifically target sports figures.
Delivers the Engagement You Need
James uses real falsified documents, forged audits, and actual client statements from his Ponzi scheme to show, not just tell, how fraud operates. Audiences stay engaged because they see evidence, not just generic slides.
Content That Delivers ROI
Athletes gain immediate tools they can use the same day—whether evaluating private investments, vetting financial advisors, or reviewing legal documents. They leave ready to safeguard their earnings and wealth.
Seamless Event Experience
James customizes content for your audience, arrives early, and stays for extended Q&A. His responsive communication makes booking him effortless.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
You Practice Like You Play.
Why Not Protect Your Wealth the Same Way?
What Athletes Need to Know to Protect Their Wealth
James Brandolino is one of the few fraud prevention experts who can teach you how to spot investment fraud from the inside out—because he operated from both sides of the law.
As someone who ran an eight-year Ponzi scheme that fooled sophisticated investors, financial professionals, and regulatory agencies, James understands exactly how predators identify and exploit their targets. Now he's dedicated to protecting athletes from becoming statistics in the tens of millions of dollars lost to fraud and mismanagement between 2004 and 2019. Through real case analysis—including the $500,000 multifamily real estate fraud that nearly trapped an NFL player—James exposes key warning signs he discovered across four critical domains: investment entities, personnel backgrounds, deal structures, and third-party validators.
This presentation goes beyond awareness to action. James equips athletic organizations with field-tested protection strategies tailored to the distinct challenges athletes face: sudden wealth without adequate fraud education, intense time constraints during active careers, and systematic targeting by sophisticated operators who study the sports world. He breaks down the Predatory Trust Cycle™—showing exactly how con artists manufacture credibility with athletes and their inner circles—then teaches his systematic four-phase vetting process that empowers player development teams and agents to safeguard their clients' financial futures.
Athletes and athletic departments will learn:
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Why college and professional athletes are specifically targeted—and how fraudsters design schemes around athletic vulnerabilities
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The Predatory Trust Cycle™—how financial predators build trust with athletes, player agents, and financial advisors
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The four-step due diligence process that saved one NFL player $500,000
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Red flags across investment companies, key personnel, opportunities, and service providers
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Why investment fraud often doesn't start on day one—and how ongoing monitoring protects long-term wealth
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A practical process athletes can use to evaluate any investment opportunity
Format: 45-60 minute keynote or 90-minute to full-day workshop
Includes: Real case study analysis, red flag identification training, and robust Q&A
INVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU INVEST
What You Need to Know to Protect Your Assets
Drawing on his experience running an eight-year Ponzi scheme that deceived high-net-worth investors, CPAs, attorneys, banks, and even regulators, James delivers a rare, unflinching look at how investment fraud actually operates. Using actual documents from his case—falsified statements, marketing materials, and bogus audits—he reveals the specific social engineering tactics fraudsters use to disarm new and sophisticated investors alike.
But this isn't just a cautionary tale. James transforms his frontline experience into practical protection. James transforms his frontline experience into practical protection. He introduces the Predatory Trust Cycle™—the four essential elements fraudsters use to build fraudulent trust and project expertise, experience, and success. James walks audiences through his proven Red Flag Report template, teaching a methodical, step-by-step approach to due diligence that demystifies the process and empowers investors to confidently spot warning signs before signing on the dotted line.
Investors will learn:
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The Predatory Trust Cycle™—how bad actors use to build trust with investors
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Why traditional due diligence often fails and what actually works
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The four categories where red flags hide
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Specific red flags that signal investment fraud
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A practical framework for evaluating any investment opportunity
Format: 45-60 minute keynote or 90-minute to full-day workshop
Includes: Real document analysis and robust Q&A
HOW WE THINK ABOUT INVESTMENT FRAUD IS ALL WRONG
Stop Profiling Fraudsters. Start Identifying Red Flags.
Most investors believe they can spot an investment fraudster by profiling their personality or by relying on traditional fraud detection methods. James Brandolino proves they're wrong—and this flawed thinking costs investors billions annually.
Drawing on both his experience orchestrating an eight-year Ponzi scheme and his current fraud prevention consulting practice, James dismantles the most common myths about investment fraud. He explains why profiling bad actors is highly ineffective, why the fraud triangle fails to predict investment fraud, and why red flags don't reside in investment products themselves. Instead, James demonstrates that fraudster actions drive red flags—and those actions can be systematically identified.
James introduces The FIRE Model™, a visual guide that flips traditional fraud detection: instead of profiling people or analyzing their motivations and pressures, start with the red flags. By reframing how investors think about fraud prevention, James shows that investment fraud is not an inevitable risk but a preventable outcome when proper due diligence targets the right warning signs.
Investors will learn:
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Why popular fraud detection methods fail investors
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How fraudsters build trust through observable, detectable behaviors
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Where red flags actually appear (and where they don't)
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A strategic framework for thinking about fraud prevention
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Why investment fraud is preventable with the right approach
Format: 45-90 minute keynote
Includes: Real document analysis and robust Q&A
"James has spoken at ACFE events and has willingly shared his story of perpetrating fraud on his investment clients. His story is very compelling and highlights the need for investors, regulators, enforcement officials, and anti-fraud professionals to always maintain professional skepticism and check and double-check everything."
John Gill, JD, CFE
President, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)
WHAT MAKES JAMES DIFFERENT?
James isn't just a former fraudster—he was a securities and futures trading professional who committed fraud. That dual perspective gives him insights no textbook expert can match.
Financial Industry Professional Turned Fraudster
Managed trading desks and served as a Chicago Board of Trade member before running a $3.8M Ponzi scheme giving him expertise on both legitimate operations and criminal schemes.
Voluntary Confession Creates Unmatched Credibility
James wasn't caught—no investigation, no whistleblower, no audit. He voluntarily confessed—unlike criminals who only admit guilt after being caught.
Proprietary Risk Model Built in Prison
James developed a system to identify 250+ investment red flags by analyzing hundreds of fraud cases and interviewing dozens of criminals during his federal sentence. Sports organizations and athletic departments now use this framework to help protect athletes' earnings.
Credentialed Expert, Not Just a Reformed Criminal
Graduate certificates in Forensic Accounting and Financial Fraud Examination—combined with eight years of operating fraud undetected.
Focuses on Red Flags, Not Fraudster Profiling
Most fraud experts teach investors to profile bad actors—but James proves that approach fails. Athletes learn this lesson quickly: the teammate's "trusted advisor" or the agent's "can't-miss opportunity" often looks completely legitimate. Instead, James teaches how to identify observable warning signs fraudsters can't hide.
