Episode Details

Tai Lopez the founder of Retail Ecommerce Ventures (“REV”) has been accused by the SEC of running a Ponzi scheme. He is currently being investigated by the FBI but, as of yet, no charges have been filed. Tai and his partner, Alex Mehr, set up REV to use as an investment vehicle. They started buying defunct retail brands such as RadioShack, Pier 1 Imports, Dressbarn, Modell’s Sporting Goods, and Linens ‘N Things. The idea was that the retail brands could be purchased at very cheap price points and would be revived using an online ecommerce strategy. This turned out to be a bad idea. In the process, Tai and Alex raised $230 million from 660 investors. Now those investors are out a lot of money, and everyone is left with a lot of questions. This episode reviewed an article from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) titled “He vowed to revive RadioShack and Pier 1. Investors say they were swindled.”