Three Maryland men have been charged with fraud for targeting immigrants from African countries in a Ponzi scheme that cost investors more than $27 million, the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced Friday.

The scheme relied on “affinity groups” made up of African immigrants, churchgoers and health-care workers, many of whom were unsophisticated investors, according to the SEC, which said the Ponzi scheme involved as many as 1,200 investors. The SEC civil complaint also charged two companies the men were officers of with fraud.

“In a time of such financial insecurity, the defendants allegedly preyed on their victims with false hope of financial security,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Boone.  “They used the victims’ hard earned money for luxury cars, private jets and family vacations while the victims ended up with false promises and empty hopes.”

Authorities said charges were filed against the following individuals:

• Dennis M. Jali, a native of South Africa who resided in Chevy Chase, Md., was the founder, owner and CEO of The Smart Partners and 1st Million. Jali also purported to be a pastor and preached at several churches, the SEC said.

• John E. Frimpong, a native of Ghana who resides in Upper Marlboro, Md., was chief financial officer of the two companies. He was affiliated with a church in or around Bowie, Md., where Jali sometimes preached.

• Arley R. Johnson, a resident of Bowie, Md., was the chief operating officer the two companies. He claimed to be a minister.

The three men told investors that their funds would be used by a team of skilled and licensed traders for foreign exchange trading and cryptocurrency trading, promising risk-free returns of between 6% and 42%, the complaint said.

Instead of investing the money or using it to buy partnerships as promised, Jali used investor funds to pay for, among other things, two luxury cars, private jet charters, airfare and hotels, extravagant retail purchases, such as Gucci, Tory Burch and Burberry, and a down payment for a house in Atlanta, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The scheme, which lasted from 2016 to 2019, began to fall apart in “February of 2019, [when] the amount of money the defendants owed investors exceeded new investor funds coming into the scheme, and over the next three months, many of the investors’ payment checks bounced,” the U.S. Attorney said.

“The complaint alleges that the defendants often targeted vulnerable African immigrants and exploited their common ancestry and religious affiliations,” the SEC said. “The complaint further alleges that Jali, who claimed to be a pastor and falsely held himself out as a self-made millionaire and expert trader, rented office space to conduct in-person meetings and give the appearance of a legitimate company.”

“As alleged in our complaint, the defendants exploited religious affiliations and cultural affinities to gain investors’ trust,” said Kelly L. Gibson, director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. “We encourage all investors to be on high alert whenever they are offered investments promising low risk and guaranteed returns, including from members of a trusted community.”

In addition to the SEC and U.S. Attorney’s charges, the three have been charged with fraud by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC is seeking disgorgement of the ill-gotten funds and civil penalties.

The three carried out their scheme in part by soliciting at churches they were involved with and by using investors who had been paid returns to help recruit new investors, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in announcing the indictment. At times, some parishioners were given cash as a sign of Jali’s purported wealth and success as a trader, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has charged the three with conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.