I Did It is the story of Gina Champion-Cain, the mastermind
behind the largest woman-led Ponzi scheme in US history--$400 million.
This
real-life story includes a multitude of participants, banks, hedge
funds,
egomaniacs, and small-time crooks, all fueled by greed, stupidity, and a
keen
desire to look the other way. And even when they were looking in the
right
direction, all of these people and entities saw nothing. Gina was the
Penn and
Teller of misdirection, acting with caring behavior to other people
(while
bilking her investors), creating philanthropic endeavors and
single-mindedly
pursuing her dream of building an empire, taking it public, and cashing
out all
the investors.
In August 2019, Gina's seven-year program of selling phony liquor
license
loans came to an end when the SEC, the US Attorney's Office, and the FBI
filed
suit and shut it down. In San Diego, Gina, then fifty-four, was an icon.
To the
outside world, this beautiful, charismatic woman looked as if she had
succeeded
in a male-dominated good old boys club--building an empire that included
real
estate, restaurants, and retail; she was a guest economics commentator
for the
San Diego Union-Tribune; she served on prestigious corporate and
nonprofit
boards. The City of San Diego even honored her with her own Gina
Champion-Cain
Day. She cooked dinner for her husband Steve, walked the dogs on the
beach, and
was a role model for young women. But in reality, her empire was a house
of
cards funded with money from a financial fraud.
