[2] The Foundation was founded by John G. Bennett Jr., a prominent Christian businessman[3] from the Philadelphia area who had previously run a variety of different entities, including some Pennsylvania state drug education centers and a corporate training business.
He was able to pay them their doubled funds in January 1990 by tapping a payment made to a consulting business he ran on the side.
In addition, Prudential Securities was a prominent part of the setup (and became the subject of a $90 million lawsuit accusing them of complicity).
The program remained small until 1993, when the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences asked for a quarter-million dollar match.
When they wanted proof that the money they donated was not being stolen, he provided evidence that the Foundation owned government bonds.
Later review showed that the Foundation's tax returns, which had always been publicly available, did not reflect the numerous funds supposedly held by New Era.
In early 1995, the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy was receiving praise in the press for giving money to religious organizations and involving high school students in charitable events.
The same day, the Foundation capitulated in the face of a lawsuit demanding repayment of a $44,000,000 loan and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In other words, participants who got out early and suffered no losses were required to give the money back, to be shared with others who were less careful (or less lucky).
He spent ten years at Ft. Dix Federal Correctional Institute before being released to a halfway house on September 11, 2007.
As Bennett started to disclose greater financial details, New Era caught the wary eye of Albert Meyer, a Spring Arbor University accounting professor, whose institution in Michigan had been drawn into the matching scheme.
Meyer's research indicated that the Foundation was a scam, but Spring Arbor College successfully collected on its early investment.
Meyer however was sure he was right and alerted federal investigators and The Wall Street Journal that New Era had all the features of a pyramid scam.