A year after a Georgia man with broad holdings in the Chattanooga area was accused of running a massive Ponzi scheme, investors who were allegedly bilked may soon learn how they’ll get money back.
A method for distributing money, garnered from the sale of assets, is expected to be discussed at a court hearing on Sept. 9 before U.S. District Court Judge Steven D. Grimberg of Atlanta, according to court filings.
There’s no indication how much of the money from the asset sales, which are still ongoing, will be available to share between investors or when distributions may take place, court papers show. Losses to investors to date amount to about $68.2 million, filings show.
In August 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that John J. Woods of Marietta, Georgia, operated the Ponzi scheme for more than a decade and defrauded more than 400 investors.
Woods, who at the time was a minority owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball team and had overseen operations of an investment firm in the city, allegedly collected $110 million from investors with promises of 6-7% returns.
But the SEC said in court papers that investments Woods made in a number of companies and in real estate deals, several in Chattanooga, were worth far too little for there to be any realistic prospect of paying back investors their principal, much less the promised returns.
An SEC spokesman declined to comment beyond the court filings earlier this month.
Woods, 57,…
