Would you consider investing in something if it came from the soccer coach of your child or grandchild?
For 61-year-old Gil J. Peter, having preschool children and coaching soccer and flag football was an excellent marketing method for his alleged fraudulent Ponzi scheme.
Peter’s “income” from his version of the Ponzi paid for his high-flying lifestyle at the expense of several parents. Some of the victims have children with serious illnesses and were looking for a way to increase their income to help pay medical expenses. Peter offered them a “one percent investment” in a medical clinic in New Jersey. However, it didn’t take long for the “investors” to discover that they lost money in a Ponzi scheme.
The Modest Man With The Luxury Lifestyle
Despite his humble, down-to-earth demeanor, he lived in a $1.8m mansion close to the Parkland Equestrian Center with his second ex-wife, Lauren. They frequently held big parties complete with lots of food and drink and bounce houses, with a cleaning crew on standby. Parents were invited to the parties with their children at the beginning of the school year.
As with most Ponzi schemes, Peter offered these parents great returns, which would go a long way in helping parents who needed it. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened, and these parents have lost considerable sums of money.
Even with multiple legal actions against him, Peter is still working to bring in new investors into his “investment opportunities,” according to some of Peter’s prior investors.
MyDoc And Doctor, Doctor
Peter owns two homes worth $1m each in Pompano Beach and Parkland, FL, and pays private school tuition for his children at North Broward Prep. He regularly posted pictures on social media of himself, including a picture taken in October of 2021 in Las Vegas with boxer Mike Tyson. Peter was in Vegas to find additional investors and to promote another product line.
The monies came from an alleged investment into an urgent care clinic called My Doc Urgent Care in Garfield, New Jersey. Both My Doc and Doctor Doctor, an LLC in Wyoming, are registered at 210 Passaic Street in Garfield.
Despite offering his victims “membership interests” in My Doc as an investment, Peters failed to obtain the licensure needed in New Jersey for non-physicians to have an ownership interest in the clinic.
My Doc Urgent Care is still operational in New Jersey with three physicians and one physicians’ assistant.
The Victims
Peter’s friendly, family-oriented manner convinced several people to invest in his Ponzi schemes, meeting many though coaching, including:
- DA, whose son needed surgery to help with a bone spur. Peter claimed to “have connections” at the University of Miami and offered to get help for his son. Once gaining Anderson’s trust, Peter told him about being a “venture capitalist,” and they began discussing investments. Shortly thereafter, Peter offered Anderson an investment into My Doc. Anderson first wired him $150,000, and later an additional $100,000, which Peter claimed would be treated as a loan and paid back within 30 days, along with an additional 1% equity for the extra funds. After repeated requests for some return, Peter sent him two checks, both of which bounced.
- JA, whose son suffered with Type 1 diabetes, sought an investment that would help offset the cost of her son’s treatment. She knew Peter through his second ex-wife Lauren. Because she worked in the healthcare field, she understood that getting 50 patients a day into the clinic would lead to suitable returns. Alfonso never received any dividends even after 12 months following her original investment. Repeated requests for information and for withdrawing from the investment scheme led to multiple excuses as to why he couldn’t send her anything.
- JM, the office manager responsible for running My Doc in New Jersey, including marketing and other administrative functions. Peter blamed Marino for the bouncing checks and other “problems” with the business and accused her of embezzling over $1m of the monies. In fact, Peter and his former father-in-law John Anastasi (the MD of My Doc) frequently asked Marino to transfer funds out of the clinic and into different accounts, totaling over $2m. Peter asked her to write checks to the investors, who began contacting her directly; these checks bounced. Peter created more spinoffs and LLCs to attract more investors especially those that appeared to be wealthy. Things were increasingly chaotic, and Marino tried very hard to keep everything together, even after the landlords padlocked the door for unpaid rents. Eventually, after supplying defrauded investors with information they needed, they fired Marino.
A previous victim, Patricia Overton, based in Colorado, was defrauded of $200,000 by Peters for an investment in a different company called ForU International, a former subsidiary of GeneLink, and he was listed as the company’s director. This company was purported to offer nutritional supplements and skin care based on a person’s individual genetics. Overton was first introduced to Peters in 2012 when his company was doing business as Capsalus. Her attorney alleged that the company was a Ponzi when his misappropriation was discovered and included promissory notes that would never be repaid.
The full story is available here at Parkland Talk’s website.
Did You Invest With Gil J. Peter, My Doc Urgent Care, Or Doctor Doctor?
Silver Law Group represents investors in securities and investment fraud cases. Our lawyers are admitted to practice in New York and Florida and represent investors nationwide to help recover investment losses due to stockbroker misconduct. If you have any questions about how your account has been handled, call to speak with an experienced securities attorney. Most cases are handled on a contingent fee basis, meaning that you won’t owe us until we recover your money for you. Contact us today at (800) 975-4345 and let us know how we can help.