Georgia Investment Promoter Toby Bailey and Attorney Alvin Jones Charged in Alleged Borg Global Ponzi Schemes

Published Oct. 22, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

One pitch promised to double investors' money by buying precious stones and metals overseas and reselling them in the United States. The other promised returns of up to 16 times the principal within 30 to 90 days by "monetizing" bank letters of credit. Federal prosecutors in Atlanta say both were Ponzi schemes, and that investor money was routed through a lawyer's trust accounts to make it look safe.

On Oct. 20, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced that Roosevelt Tobias "Toby" Bailey, 70, of Duluth, Georgia, and Alvin Jones, 58, of Tampa, Florida, described as "a former prosecutor and current practicing attorney," had been indicted, arrested and arraigned [1].

Important: Both men have been charged, not convicted. "The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and the government has the burden to prove the defendants' guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial," the U.S. Attorney's Office said [1].

Status: Indicted Sept. 22, 2026. Bailey was arrested and arraigned Oct. 16; Jones was arrested and arraigned Oct. 20. No trial date has been announced (status pending).

The charges

A federal grand jury charged [1]:

• Bailey with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy and three counts of money laundering.
• Jones with one count of money laundering conspiracy and three counts of money laundering.

How the schemes allegedly worked

According to the indictment and information provided in court, from about October 2018 through October 2022 Bailey ran two investment programs through his company, Borg Global [1]:

• The "Micro-Cap" program promised that Borg Global would pool investor money to buy precious stones and metals outside the United States and resell them at a higher price inside the country, "effectively doubling the initial investments."
• The Standby Letter of Credit (SBLC) program promised returns of up to 16 times the principal within 30 to 90 days. Bailey allegedly claimed Borg Global could lease or "monetize" SBLCs from major banks or corporations using investor money.

Prosecutors say neither program used investor funds as promised. Instead, Bailey allegedly took the money for himself and personal expenses. To hide that, he allegedly told investors to send their money to Jones's IOLTA accounts, the trust accounts lawyers use to hold client funds [1].

Jones, at Bailey's direction, allegedly sent the money on to Bailey's personal and business accounts and to earlier investors "to perpetuate the schemes," and kept a portion for himself. Bailey received nearly $2 million in investor funds between October 2018 and October 2022, then stopped communicating with investors in October 2022, according to prosecutors [1].

"Bailey allegedly lured investors based on promises of massive returns and false assurances that their investments would be held in Jones's trust accounts," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg [1].

An earlier SEC case

The criminal charges follow a civil lawsuit the Securities and Exchange Commission filed in July 2024. The SEC charged Bailey, then described as 68 and of Buford, Georgia, and his company Borg Investment Bank & Capital Trust with running "a fraudulent prime bank and gold and diamond investment scheme," and charged "Alvin C. Jones, Esq. of Tampa, Florida" with aiding and abetting it [2]. The SEC alleged that more than $1.6 million was raised from at least 26 investors, that about $250,000 went to Ponzi payments and that at least $410,000 was misappropriated for Bailey's personal expenses. It alleged Jones served as a "paymaster" despite "numerous investor complaints" [2]. The SEC's allegations are civil, and we have not confirmed the current status of that case (status pending). The FBI investigated the criminal case with help from the SEC [1].

What an SBLC really is

The U.S. Attorney's Office included a warning about this kind of pitch: "An SBLC is a financial instrument issued by a bank on behalf of its customer to serve as a guarantee for borrowing money and is treated much like a loan. An SBLC is not itself an investment vehicle, and it cannot be traded, bought, or sold" [1]. The office pointed readers to an FBI public service announcement on SBLC scams [3].

Red flags

• Any "investment" in standby letters of credit, bank guarantees or "prime bank" instruments, or talk of "leasing" or "monetizing" them.
• Promised multiples of your money (double, or up to 16 times) in weeks or months.
• Being told to wire money to a lawyer's trust or escrow account as proof that it's safe. A trust account doesn't make an investment legitimate.
• Overseas commodity deals in gems or metals you can't inspect or verify.
• A promoter who goes silent once payments stop.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Walk away from SBLC and "bank instrument" pitches. Federal prosecutors say SBLCs can't be traded, bought or sold.
2. Verify the seller and the product with your state securities regulator, and check brokers on FINRA BrokerCheck at brokercheck.finra.org [4].
3. Don't treat an attorney's involvement as a guarantee. You can confirm a lawyer's license with the state bar, but that doesn't vouch for the deal itself.
4. If you invested with Borg Global, you can contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov [5]. You can also report investment fraud to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr [6].

Case status (as of Oct. 22, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 22, 2026	Source
Roosevelt Tobias "Toby" Bailey, 70, Duluth, Ga.	U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga.	Indicted Sept. 22, 2026 (7 wire fraud, 1 money laundering conspiracy, 3 money laundering); arrested and arraigned Oct. 16; presumed innocent	[1]
Alvin Jones, 58, Tampa, Fla.	U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga.	Indicted Sept. 22, 2026 (1 money laundering conspiracy, 3 money laundering); arrested and arraigned Oct. 20; presumed innocent	[1]
Roosevelt Tobias Bailey; Borg Investment Bank & Capital Trust; Alvin C. Jones	U.S. District Court, N.D. Ga., No. 1:24-cv-03309 (SEC civil)	Sued civilly by SEC July 25, 2024; current status not confirmed (status pending)	[2]

Statuses can change. Those not convicted are presumed innocent.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, "Investment Broker and Attorney Charged with Running Multiple Ponzi Schemes," Oct. 20, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/investment-broker-and-attorney-charged-running-multiple-ponzi-schemes
2. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 26057, "SEC Charges Georgia Man and Florida Lawyer for Their Roles in Fraudulent Investment Scheme," July 26, 2024. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26057
3. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, Public Service Announcement PSA190318 (as cited by the U.S. Attorney's Office). https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2019/PSA190318
4. FINRA BrokerCheck (accessed Oct. 22, 2026). https://brokercheck.finra.org/
5. FBI tips portal (accessed Oct. 22, 2026). https://tips.fbi.gov/
6. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, tips, complaints and referrals (accessed Oct. 22, 2026). https://www.sec.gov/tcr

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