Colorado Springs man accused of fleecing investors with house-flipping Ponzi scheme

Flipping houses is always a gamble, but it's not typically as bad a bet as authorities say it was for investors who trusted Benjamin Myung Sik Rose.

The 35-year-old Colorado Springs man stole more than $450,000 from multiple people through a Ponzi scheme from August 2016 through April 2017, according to an arrest warrant. He pretended to be a licensed contractor who fixed up and resold houses, but instead gambled away the money he took from investors, police say.

He was not a contractor, did not buy houses and used altered bank statements, emails from banks and property deeds as part of his scheme, the affidavit says. To keep the victims investing, he provided initial returns using other investors' money, investigators said.

Rose turned himself in Aug. 17 after police obtained a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of forgery and multiple counts of theft, all felonies.

He previously was arrested Jan. 2 on suspicion of defrauding his in-laws, John and Johanna Moe, out of more than $175,000, the affidavit says. He allegedly sent them fake court documents and said he would be jailed if he didn't pay.

In an interview with police, "he claimed he and his wife together created the fake attorney email address and fraudulent court documents," the affidavit says. After Rose's arrest, he allegedly continued to gamble and proceeded with his scheme, defrauding victims out of more than $100,000.

Rose also pleaded guilty to theft between $1,000 to $20,000 in 2010 for contractor fraud, the affidavit says. He reportedly did not complete work on a basement the victim had paid him to work on.

Online court records were not available Thursday.

One of his victims, Davey Chung, 49, lost a total of $364,552.81 over seven months, the affidavit states. Chung told police he met Rose through a friend and initially loaned him $1,000. Rose repaid the loan and slightly more within two weeks, then "Mr. Rose began to share a dream of his with Mr. Chung," the affidavit says. The dream: After making money flipping houses, buying a multifamily property in Denver as a rental investment.

"Mr. Chung said that this proposition intrigued him since he already owned several rental properties and he was looking for new opportunities," the affidavit said.

Chung's investments included more than $18,500 charged to his credit card through Paypal "for materials to flip houses," the affidavit shows.

The Denver property was never purchased and the money Chung gave Rose to flip houses was used to repay other investors promised high returns or gambled away, the affidavit said

Rose, whose divorce was finalized July 3, was evicted from his home and "has had no record of a legitimate job in Colorado Springs in at least the past year," the affidavit says. He reportedly was living with his girlfriend in an apartment in Colorado Springs.

Between January 2016 and June 2017, Rose reportedly lost $275,000 at The Brass Ass in Cripple Creek, $37,000 at Golden Gates Poker Parlour and Casino in Black Hawk and $17,000 at Isle Casino Hotel in Black Hawk.

"Mr. Rose has demonstrated an ability to repeatedly deceive people into giving him large sums of money he is unable or unwilling to pay," the affidavit says.

Anyone who might have contributed into the alleged scheme is asked to call Colorado Springs police at 444-7000. To remain anonymous, call the Crime Stoppers tip line at 634-7867 or 1-800-222-8477.