Jan. 19, 2023
The Big Fraud: MMM Cooperative of Sergey Mavrodi
The fraudster Sergey Mavrodi created one of the largest Ponzi schemes across the world and deceived millions of people. His story was a bit of shock for me since I don’t think that kind of fraud would be possible today in the first place. I mean, today we at least can quickly google the information about anyone and didn’t buy into the promises of a stranger. However, in the USSR people couldn’t just open Google Search and make sure that some weird guy doesn’t try to steal from them. It seems that people’s ignorance was a major reason of Mavrodi's success.
Mavrodi definitely wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In fact, he was quite an odd man with an odd jobs. First he worked as a software engineer, then used to sell pirate audio cassettes. He collected butterflies and bred fishes, worn spectacles and scruffy clothes. It’s thought to be that he was the first who imported the personal computers to the USSR. To be honest, he didn’t give an impression of someone who would became a highly successful millionaire down the road at all.
It wasn’t until 1990s that Mavrodi’s company, MMM Cooperative, got it start. At first, the company sold only personal computers. However, shortly after, the business was on the rise, and Sergey decided to launch a huge PR campaign. For example, he made a New Year’s Christmas TV ad in which he addressed to the average Russians. That kind of add before him had made only a Russian President but it seems Mavrodi didn’t concern himself with business etiquette.
On February 1994, Sergey started to sell MMM shares. Thanks to PR campaign on TV, which is proved to be highly effective, the Russians already knew who Mavrodi was and at once began to buy shares. There was no shortage of enthusiastic investors, and it’s said that about 15 millions of the Russians participated in MMM Cooperation. Why is it that people were ready to give Mavrodi their money in the first place? Well, because in the USSR people lived in poverty, and they simply wanted to have any hope for the future.
MMM Cooperation became so popular that Sergey and his assistants hadn’t time to count all the money, so they measured them simply by eye or by the size of a room. At a certain point, Mavrodi even created his own currency with his portrait on banknotes — that money were called MMM coupons and were in circulation with ruble, dollar and other currencies.
It was utterly ridiculous that on August 1994, Sergey was accused with tax evasion instead of a fraud. He was sent to jail for 70 days. Soon thereafter he was released, MMM Cooperation was closed, and Mavrodi disappeared and was put on the international most wanted list. He was arrested in 2003 in his Moscow apartment where he had been hiding. He was sentenced for four years and six months, but soon was again released because at the time he had already spent most of his custody time in pre-trial custody. By comparison, the fraudster Bernie Madoff four years later was sentenced to 150 years in prison by the similar Ponzi fraud.
MMM was one of the biggest financial pyramid scheme in history. According to calculations, people invested from $100 million to a billion dollars in Mavrodi’s company and lost all their savings. Investors weren’t really wealthy — rather, they were poor people with their last savings. More than 50 people committed suicide when they realised they lost everything. Money was never found, and it’s believed that Mavrodi send them out of the Russia through offshore companies.
The fraudster Sergey Mavrodi created one of the largest Ponzi schemes across the world, deceiving millions of people. His story was a bit of shock for me since I didn't think that kind of fraud would be possible today in the first place. I mean, nowadays we can at least quickly google general information on anyone and to not buy into the promises of a stranger. However, in the USSR people couldn’t just open Google Search and make sure that some weird guy doesn’t try to steal from them. It seems that people’s ignorance was a major reason of Mavrodi's success.
Mavrodi definitely wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. In fact, he was quite a peculiar man with an equally odd set of jobs and tastes. First he worked as a software engineer, then moved on to selling pirated audio cassettes. He collected butterflies and bred fishes. Similarly, his eccentric choice in clothes consisted of donning spectacles and wearing scruffy clothes. It’s believed that he was the first to have imported personal computers to the USSR. To be honest, he didn’t give an impression of someone who would became a highly successful millionaire down the road at all.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that Mavrodi’s company, MMM Cooperative, got its start. At first, the company only sold personal computers. However, shortly after, the business was on the rise, and Sergey decided to launch a huge PR campaign. For example, he made a New Year’s Christmas TV advertisement in which he addressed to the average Russians. Before Mavrodi, that kind of advertisement had only ever been made by the Russian President, but it seems Mavrodi didn’t concern himself with business etiquette.
Then, on February 1994, Sergey started to sell MMM shares. Thanks to the PR campaign on TV, which proved to be highly effective, the Russians were already well acquainted with Mavrodi and began buying shares at once. There was no shortage of enthusiastic investors, and it’s said that about 15 millions of Russians participated in the MMM Cooperation. Why is it that people were ready to give Mavrodi their money in the first place? Well, because in the USSR, people lived in poverty, and simply wanted to have even the slightest bit of hope for the future.
The MMM Cooperation became so popular that Sergey and his assistants didn't have enough time to count all the money, so they simply measured it by eye or by the size of a room. At a certain point, Mavrodi even created his own currency with his portrait on banknotes — that money was called MMM coupons and were in circulation with the ruble, the dollar and other currencies.
It was utterly ridiculous that on August 1994, Sergey was accused with tax evasion instead of fraud. He was sent to jail for 70 days. Soon thereafter, he was released, the MMM Cooperation was closed, and Mavrodi disappeared, put on the international most wanted list. He was arrested in 2003 in his Moscow apartment where he had been hiding. He was sentenced for four years and six months, but was released soon because at the time, he had already spent most of his custody time in pre-trial custody. By comparison, the fraudster Bernie Madoff four years later was sentenced to 150 years in prison by a similar Ponzi scheme.
MMM was one of the biggest financial pyramid scheme in history. According to calculations, people invested from $100 million to a billion dollars in Mavrodi’s company, resulting in many losing all their savings. Investors weren’t really wealthy — rather, they were poor people with their last savings. More than 50 people committed suicide when they realised they lost everything. The stolen money was never found, and it’s believed that Mavrodi sent it out of Russia through offshore companies.
The Big Fraud: MMM Cooperative of Sergey Mavrodi
The fraudster Sergey Mavrodi created one of the largest Ponzi schemes across the world and, deceiveding millions of people.
Fine originally, I feel like writing it this way creates that cause-effect feeling more. Or, you could write it as: "The fraudster Sergey Mavrodi created one of the largest Ponzi schemes across the world which ended up deceiving millions of people."
His story was a bit of shock for me since I doidn’t think that kind of fraud would be possible today in the first place.
The original is fine besides "don't" to "didn't". I feel like this wording is a bit better though.
His story was a bit of a shock for me since, in the first place, I didn't think that kind of fraud would be possible in this day and age.
I mean, tonowadays, we can at least can quickly google thegeneral information abouton anyone and didn’to not buy into the promises of a stranger.
However, in the USSR people couldn’t just open Google Search and make sure that some weird guy doesn’t try to steal from them.
It seems that people’s ignorance was a major reason of Mavrodi's success.
Mavrodi definitely wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
In fact, he was quite an odd peculiar man with an odd jobequally odd set of jobs and tastes.
First he worked as a software engineer, then usedmoved on to selling pirated audio cassettes.
Do you mean pirating an audio in this case with 'pirate?'
He collected butterflies and bred fishes, worn. Similarly, his queer choice in clothes consisted of donning spectacles and wearing scruffy clothes.
It’s thought to be(commonly) believed that he was the first whoto have imported the personal computers to the USSR.
To be honest, he didn’t give an impression of someone who would became a highly successful millionaire down the road at all.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that Mavrodi’s company, MMM Cooperative, got its start.
At first, the company sold onlyonly sold personal computers.
This word ordering feels a bit more natural to me.
However, shortly after, the business was on the rise, and Sergey decided to launch a huge PR campaign.
For example, he made a New Year’s Christmas TV ad(vertisement) in which he addressed to the average Russians.
'Ad' is an informal shortened version of advertisement.
That kind of add before him had made only aBefore Mavrodi, that kind of advertisement had only ever been made by the Russian President, but it seems Mavrodi didn’t concern himself with business etiquette.
OThen, on February 1994, Sergey started to sell MMM shares.
Better transition to a new paragraph.
Thanks to the PR campaign on TV, which is proved to be highly effective, the Russians were already knew who Mavrodi was and at oncewell acquainted with Mavrodi and began to buying shares at once.
There was no shortage of enthusiastic investors, and it’s said that about 15 millions of the Russians participated in the MMM Cooperation.
Why is it that people were ready to give Mavrodi their money in the first place?
Well, because in the USSR, people lived in poverty, and they simply wanted to have anyeven the slightest bit of hope for the future.
The MMM Cooperation became so popular that Sergey and his assistants hadn’tdidn't have enough time to count all the money, so they simply measured ithem simply by eye or by the size of a/the room.
At a certain point, Mavrodi even created his own currency with his portrait on banknotes — that money wereas called MMM coupons and were in circulation with the ruble, the dollar and other currencies.
It was utterly ridiculous that on August 1994, Sergey was accused with tax evasion instead of a fraud.
He was sent to jail for 70 days.
Soon (there)after, he was released, MMM Cooperation was closed, and Mavrodi disappeared and was, put on the international most wanted list.
He was arrested in 2003 in his Moscow apartment where he had been hiding.
He was sentenced for four years and six months, but soon was again was rereleased soon because at the time, he had already spent most of his custody time in pre-trial custody.
By comparison, the fraudster Bernie Madoff four years later was sentenced to 150 years in prison by thea similar Ponzi fraudscheme.
MMM was one of the biggest financial pyramid scheme in history.
According to calculations, people invested from $100 million to a billion dollars in Mavrodi’s company , resulting in mandy losting all their savings.
More than 50 people committed suicide when they realised they lost everything.
MThe stolen money was never found, and it’s believed that Mavrodi send themt it out of the Russia through offshore companies.
Feedback
What a fascinating story! This time around, you have definitely improved the readability of your writing. Good job! But now, the flow and style of writing is not as complex as the previous one. This is a step in the right direction, but I think you still need to find the correct balance between more simple and involved sentences.
Jan. 20, 2023
First he worked as a software engineer, then usedmoved on to selling pirated audio cassettes.
yes
Jan. 20, 2023
He collected butterflies and bred fishes, worn. Similarly, his queer choice in clothes consisted of donning spectacles and wearing scruffy clothes.
dictionary: queer (2) (old-fashioned) strange or difficult to explain. If a word is old-fashioned, should I still use it?
Jan. 20, 2023
Thanks to the PR campaign on TV, which is proved to be highly effective, the Russians were already knew who Mavrodi was and at oncewell acquainted with Mavrodi and began to buying shares at once.
why began buying is better than began to buy? I know that both options are possible
Jan. 20, 2023
Soon (there)after, he was released, MMM Cooperation was closed, and Mavrodi disappeared and was, put on the international most wanted list.
passive of put is "was putted." Why you offer just "put" after the comma?
Jan. 20, 2023
According to calculations, people invested from $100 million to a billion dollars in Mavrodi’s company , resulting in mandy losting all their savings.
"resulting in many losing their savings" — that's a new structure for me.
The fire resulted in damage to their property. — so, after "resulting in" I just explain resulting in what?
...Resulting in:
- people left the city
- the street was flooded with water
- The President resigned from the government, etc. ..?
Jan. 20, 2023
Thank you so much for your help. I have a lot of problems not only with a flow, but with articles, structure, the balance of clarity/brevity.. Well, there's a lot of things to learn. It would be great if you can answer my questions 🙏
Jan. 20, 2023
dictionary: queer (2) (old-fashioned) strange or difficult to explain. If a word is old-fashioned, should I still use it?
Ah, I was not aware of how much this word has evolved recently. In this case, ‘eccentric’ would be a better word. Nowadays, it is used in this context.
The adjective queer is now most frequently applied with its meanings relating to sexual orientation and/or gender identity, as outlined at sense 2 above. When these meanings were developing in the early 20th century, they were strongly pejorative, echoing the negative connotations of the word's older meanings, which included "weird," "suspicious," and "unwell." But the adjective today is commonly used as a positive or neutral self-descriptor, and also has wide use as a neutral broad descriptor for a large and varied group of people.
Contemporary Black activism has also largely been informed by the concurrent agitation surrounding trans and queer rights …
—Nelson George
Through interviews, mapping, and an examination of local history and present developments, this paper concludes that gays, lesbians and other members of the queer community often create the liberating social spaces that attract further settlement by "non-conformists."
—Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting
The term is also prominent as a neutral term in academic contexts that deal with gender and sexuality. Current neutral and positive uses notwithstanding, the word's long history of pejorative use continued into the current century, and some people still find the word offensive in any context.
Jan. 20, 2023
why began buying is better than began to buy? I know that both options are possible
Both are good. Choose the one you like more.
Jan. 20, 2023
passive of put is "was putted." Why you offer just "put" after the comma?
I wrote it this way to get rid of the second ‘and’ while keeping the ‘and’ before “Mavrodi disappeared” so it can keep the chronological feel in tact. “Put on the international most wanted list” is a subordinate clause, so you can separate from an insubordinate clause with a comma if it ends the sentence. Just don’t abuse the comma like this too much or it can lead to a run-on sentence.
Jan. 20, 2023
"resulting in many losing their savings" — that's a new structure for me. The fire resulted in damage to their property. — so, after "resulting in" I just explain resulting in what? ...Resulting in: - people left the city - the street was flooded with water - The President resigned from the government, etc. ..?
Yes, though to match the tense here, you should write these as:
- people leaving the city
- the street being flooded with water
- the President resigning from the government, etc.
To be more specific, this ‘structure’ is just a gerund-participle clause. The gerund is ‘resulting’ in this case. More information can be found in this stack exchange post I found.
https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/111626/why-the-verb-is-in-ing-form-after-comma
Jan. 20, 2023
Thank you so much for your help. I have a lot of problems not only with a flow, but with articles, structure, the balance of clarity/brevity.. Well, there's a lot of things to learn. It would be great if you can answer my questions 🙏
Keep writing and reading and you will improve in no time!
Jan. 23, 2023
Ah, I was not aware of how much this word has evolved recently. In this case, ‘eccentric’ would be a better word. Nowadays, it is used in this context. The adjective queer is now most frequently applied with its meanings relating to sexual orientation and/or gender identity, as outlined at sense 2 above. When these meanings were developing in the early 20th century, they were strongly pejorative, echoing the negative connotations of the word's older meanings, which included "weird," "suspicious," and "unwell." But the adjective today is commonly used as a positive or neutral self-descriptor, and also has wide use as a neutral broad descriptor for a large and varied group of people. Contemporary Black activism has also largely been informed by the concurrent agitation surrounding trans and queer rights … —Nelson George Through interviews, mapping, and an examination of local history and present developments, this paper concludes that gays, lesbians and other members of the queer community often create the liberating social spaces that attract further settlement by "non-conformists." —Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting The term is also prominent as a neutral term in academic contexts that deal with gender and sexuality. Current neutral and positive uses notwithstanding, the word's long history of pejorative use continued into the current century, and some people still find the word offensive in any context.
thank you for your explanation 🙏
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The Big Fraud: MMM Cooperative of Sergey Mavrodi This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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The fraudster Sergey Mavrodi created one of the largest Ponzi schemes across the world and deceived millions of people. The fraudster Sergey Mavrodi created one of the largest Ponzi schemes across the world Fine originally, I feel like writing it this way creates that cause-effect feeling more. Or, you could write it as: "The fraudster Sergey Mavrodi created one of the largest Ponzi schemes across the world which ended up deceiving millions of people." |
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His story was a bit of shock for me since I don’t think that kind of fraud would be possible today in the first place. His story was a bit of shock for me since I d The original is fine besides "don't" to "didn't". I feel like this wording is a bit better though. His story was a bit of a shock for me since, in the first place, I didn't think that kind of fraud would be possible in this day and age. |
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I mean, today we at least can quickly google the information about anyone and didn’t buy into the promises of a stranger. I mean, |
|
However, in the USSR people couldn’t just open Google Search and make sure that some weird guy doesn’t try to steal from them. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
It seems that people’s ignorance was a major reason of Mavrodi success. |
|
Mavrodi definitely wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth. |
|
In fact, he was quite an odd man with an odd jobs. In fact, he was quite a |
|
First he worked as a software engineer, then used to sell pirate audio cassettes. First he worked as a software engineer, then Do you mean pirating an audio in this case with 'pirate?' |
|
He collected butterflies and bred fishes, worn spectacles and scruffy clothes. He collected butterflies and bred fishes |
|
It’s thought to be that he was the first who imported the personal computers to the USSR. It’s |
|
To be honest, he didn’t give an impression of someone who would became a highly successful millionaire down the road at all. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
It wasn’t until 1990s that Mavrodi’s company, MMM Cooperative, got it start. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Mavrodi’s company, MMM Cooperative, got its start. |
|
At first, the company sold only personal computers. At first, the company This word ordering feels a bit more natural to me. |
|
However, shortly after, the business was on the rise, and Sergey decided to launch a huge PR campaign. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
For example, he made a New Year’s Christmas TV ad in which he addressed to the average Russians. For example, he made a New Year’s Christmas TV ad(vertisement) in which he addressed to the average Russians. 'Ad' is an informal shortened version of advertisement. |
|
That kind of add before him had made only a Russian President but it seems Mavrodi didn’t concern himself with business etiquette.
|
|
On February 1994, Sergey started to sell MMM shares.
Better transition to a new paragraph. |
|
Thanks to PR campaign on TV, which is proved to be highly effective, the Russians already knew who Mavrodi was and at once began to buy shares. Thanks to the PR campaign on TV, which |
|
There was no shortage of enthusiastic investors, and it’s said that about 15 millions of the Russians participated in MMM Cooperation. There was no shortage of enthusiastic investors, and it’s said that about 15 millions of |
|
Why is it that people were ready to give Mavrodi their money in the first place? This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
Well, because in the USSR people lived in poverty, and they simply wanted to have any hope for the future. Well, because in the USSR, people lived in poverty |
|
MMM Cooperation became so popular that Sergey and his assistants hadn’t time to count all the money, so they measured them simply by eye or by the size of a room. The MMM Cooperation became so popular that Sergey and his assistants |
|
At a certain point, Mavrodi even created his own currency with his portrait on banknotes — that money were called MMM coupons and were in circulation with ruble, dollar and other currencies. At a certain point, Mavrodi even created his own currency with his portrait on banknotes — that money w |
|
It was utterly ridiculous that on August 1994, Sergey was accused with tax evasion instead of a fraud. It was utterly ridiculous that on August 1994, Sergey was accused with tax evasion instead of |
|
He was sent to jail for 70 days. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
Soon thereafter he was released, MMM Cooperation was closed, and Mavrodi disappeared and was put on the international most wanted list. Soon (there)after, he was released, MMM Cooperation was closed, and Mavrodi disappeared |
|
He was arrested in 2003 in his Moscow’s apartment where he had been hiding. |
|
He was sentenced for four years and six months, but soon was again released because at the time he had already spent most of his custody time in pre-trial custody. He was sentenced for four years and six months, but |
|
By comparison, the fraudster Bernie Madoff four years later was sentenced to 150 years in prison by the similar Ponzi fraud. By comparison, the fraudster Bernie Madoff four years later was sentenced to 150 years in prison by |
|
MMM was one of the biggest financial pyramid scheme in history. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
According to calculations, people invested from $100 million to a billion dollars in Mavrodi’s company and lost all their savings. According to calculations, people invested from $100 million to a billion dollars in Mavrodi’s company |
|
Investors weren’t really wealthy — rather, they were poor people with their last savings. |
|
More than 50 people committed suicide when they realised they lost everything. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
Money was never found, and it’s believed that Mavrodi send them out of the Russia through offshore companies.
|
|
Mavrodi definitely wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
It seems that people’s ignorance was a major reason of Mavrodi's success. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
He was arrested in 2003 in his Moscow apartment where he had been hiding. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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