ponzi scheme

IPA/ˈpɒnzi skiːm/
IPA/ˈpɑːnzi skiːm/

ponzi scheme — noun

1. a dishonest investment plan in which money put in by newer participants is used

1.名詞B2
釋義

a dishonest investment plan in which money put in by newer participants is used to pay returns to earlier participants, creating a false appearance of profit until eventually the plan fails because there are too few newcomers to sustain payments

例句

Ramón discovered that the investment fund he had joined was actually a Ponzi scheme.

discover + that-clause for revealing fraud

Officials shut down a company that ran a Ponzi scheme and cheated two hundred families.

collocation: run a Ponzi scheme

同義詞
  • pyramid scheme

    related but distinct: a pyramid scheme relies on recruiting new members to pay those above, while a Ponzi scheme uses investment money from new clients to pay returns to earlier clients

  • scam

    broader term for any dishonest plan to get money, not limited to investment structures

  • swindle

    emphasizes the act of cheating someone out of money, often through deception

  • fraud

    general legal term for intentional deception for financial gain

文法句型

Ponzi scheme + verb (run/operate/expose)

用法筆記

The term is always capitalized because it comes from the surname of Charles Ponzi, who operated the most famous early example. Frequently used in legal and financial reporting contexts.

常見錯誤

❌The company was fined for a Ponzi scheme' (when the issue was false advertising).
✅The company was fined for running a Ponzi scheme that paid early investors with new investors' money.
💡Ponzi schemes specifically involve using new money to pay old investors, not any kind of fraud.
❌That multilevel marketing company is a Ponzi scheme' (when it is a legitimate business).
✅That multilevel marketing company shares some features with a Ponzi scheme, but not all.
💡Not every multi-level business is a Ponzi scheme; a real Ponzi scheme has no genuine source of profit.