Dreams Lost

DREAMS LOST
Prokop investors
U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent observed after hearing several investors testify of money lost and lives ruined in Prokop Insurance's investment deals that "all these people were living the American Dream" and lost it.
"This case has affected me more than any I've tried in my life. There's a lot of emotion in this court today because these people have been waiting a long time for their voices to be heard."
Atty. David Comstock Jr.
"I worked hard all my life. I had the American Dream. A friend and I saw the ads in the paper and heard them on the radio. I sold bank stock, cashed in everything and invested $750,000 with them. I talked my sister and son into investing. My son sold a house and was going to use the money for college. I have seven grandchildren, and I had college funds for them. They got one year of college paid for, and now I can't help them. I'm back in the hole and working every day."
James Denman
"My brother was 37 when he killed himself. He was so frugal he rode around everywhere on a bicycle. He worked minimum-wage jobs and invested $100,000. He lost it all. I have two other brothers, and this has affected us all. We watched Mom age and watched her health decline. My brother worked minimum-wage jobs. I couldn't say my brother's name for three years without crying. I hope justice is served."
Greg Urbanak
"My husband was in the Navy and a prisoner of war in Japan for three years. When people asked him why he survived, he said to tell people what the [Japanese] did [to the POWs]. He never recovered from that, but I married him and I took care of him 'in sickness and in health.' The government never did anything for him because of the treaty they signed with Japan. Everything he needed, they said they couldn't do because of that treaty. When I went to [Prokop] and said we needed our money, and he said, "It's safe." My husband died in June of a heart attack because of this [stress of losing money]. We would have been married 60 years in November."
Annie Tarkanish
"I had a stroke, and I'm going blind. When I said I needed my money, [Prokop] said the money was invested in Florida and he was looking for lawyers to get it back."
Chris Nicopolis
"My son has cancer, and I want to help him financially, and now I can't. The loss of this money has ruined my life. I used to be happy and outgoing. This has sucked every ounce of joy out of my body."
Patricia Maiorca
"Every day on the radio we heard ads for 'guaranteed investments.' I put in $82,000, my life savings, in the pay phones and the ATMs. I got a lawyer to try to get it out. I'd call and [Prokop] wouldn't talk to me. They lied on our deposition. Now they have 41 counts down to four and 37 counts down to two. We're living on our Social Security, about $1,200 a month. They live in $300,000 homes and drive Cadillac Escalades. I live in a $32,000 home and drive a '92 Buick. They have an insurance company with no insurance. They are going to spend a short time in prison compared to our sentence for the rest of our lives."
Ronald Wilson