
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 7, 1994                    TAG: 9406070315 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: D6    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940607                                 LENGTH: SUFFOLK

WOMAN ORDERED TO REPAY THREE SCAM VICTIMS

{LEAD} A woman who participated in a pyramid scheme that swept through Hampton Roads was ordered last week to refund $4,500 to three people who lost money in the operation.

Police suspect thousands of gullible investors were bilked when the ``Friends Helping Friends'' money-making scheme spread through the Tidewater and Richmond areas earlier this year.

{REST} But lawyers familiar with the civil case in Suffolk General District Court last Wednesday think it marks the first time victims have won their money back in court.

The three women, Valerie Birdzell, Terri Bobbio and Elizabeth Durand, each gave $1,500 to Holland resident Debi Ward at a Friends Helping Friends ``party'' in January.

Those who invested $1,500 at the bottom of the four-tier pyramids were told they could ``cash out'' with $12,000 once enough additional investors signed on.

Ward was at the top of the pyramid the three women invested in, and she received their money as part of her payoff.

Her pyramid ``crashed'' after the women paid their money, largely because of news reports calling the game a scam and scaring off the new investors needed to keep it alive, said Kirk Pretlow, attorney for the three plaintiffs.

The women said Ward told them the game was legal, a claim she denied. But General District Court Judge Blair Harry ordered her to repay the three women.

Ward, who could not be reached Monday, has filed an appeal.

The pyramid scheme apparently appeared in Western Tidewater late last year, then spread east to Virginia Beach before surfacing in Richmond about three months ago.

Participating in pyramid schemes is a misdemeanor under state law, punishable by a $2,500 fine and as much as a year in jail.

But authorities in most areas decided to warn participants rather than prosecute, because few of those involved knew the operation was illegal.

In Suffolk, many participants refunded money voluntarily, police said.

Four people charged in February with participating in a pyramid scheme in Virginia Beach are scheduled for trial June 28.

{KEYWORDS} PYRAMID SCHEME LAWSUIT

by CNB