...Another way to look at it is IF you run a business that is 100% legit but it utterly indistinguishable from a ponzi scheme then guess what .... the risk that it will be confused with a ponzi scheme and you may suffer a lack of liquidity as a result is a business risk.  A risk that both the operator of the business and the investors should have considered.   Lets assume Pirate operation was 100% legit.  Could he have done anything to mitigate that risk?  Transparency?  Delayed withdrawals?  Working with a smaller pool of high net worth investors?  Since he chose NOT to take steps to mitigate that risk factor and the "investors" decided to ignore that risk factor any losses are solely the fault of the operator and investors.