I Did It: The Largest Woman-Run Ponzi Scheme in American History

by Neil Senturia, Barbara Bry

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.

304 pages, Hardcover

Published September 13, 2022

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

She's sorta sorry bc she knows all she was doing was selling people they're own greed. Civic minded criminal could hand been the title.

What my 👂 heard 👇

Feed the beast or feed the patrons
You think you're playing with house money and you are until you lose your house
I'm becoming disc inclined
Breed is a powerful emotion sometimes leading to blindness
The puzzle of how much is enough is the Rubik's cube of life
Vertical integration

[Niki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could’ve been 100 total pages easily.

Really felt like she just wanted to give her side of the story and show how it wasn’t her, it was Kim.

She takes almost no responsibility and just deflects on everyone around her when she was the master orchestrator. A frustrating read and just overall mediocre.

Not worth the read for 300 pages in my opinion.

[Kristy Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Interesting!

I became aware of this story through some friends of mine who are from MI and knew Gina very well.

I thought this book was well-written.

[Hayden Adcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely did not need to be that long

[Patricia Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

I found this book interesting, well written, and easy to read. This reads like a great made for tv movie...maybe even a series. Also, I look forward to the sequel!!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dayummmmm Gina!

[Kyla Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read. It does read sympathetic to her and her perspective. I looked at it as an interesting glimpse into the mind of someone who could justify stealing millions.