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EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. (AP) -- A Canadian man is accused of swindling $70 million from 40,000 investors on six continents with the same kind of Ponzi scheme the one-time bank robber openly
mocked on his website.

Federal prosecutors in southern Illinois on Friday filed a 10-count Friday against 53-year-old Nicholas Smirnow, whose whereabouts are unclear.

The complaint says Smirnow's "Pathway to Prosperity" website warned investors to stay away from so-called high-yield investment programs boasting of unrealistic returns at little or no risk.

But the U.S. government says that's just what Smirnow was peddling.

Smirnow also allegedly never divulged he'd served prison time for bank robbery or that he'd been convicted of burglary and drug trafficking.

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